Not Just Action Figures
by TweetyBirdAlpha
Summary: Every Power Ranger and evil villain ever has been turned into three inch tall action figures and transported to a strange new world. Who is responsible for this and how will the many teams pull together to solve it? Mega-Crossover starring everyone!
1. Chapter 1: Awake

**Not Just Action Figures-Every Power Ranger and evil villain ever has been turned into ten inch tall action figures and transported to a strange new world. Who is responsible for this and how will the many teams pull together to solve it? Yeah, this is gonna be fun. **

Chapter 1- Awake

_Mwahahahahahaha! Give up Rangers, you will never defeat me and my ghost zombie army! _Made of color dyed polymers and standing tall at a dramatic four inches, Lord Zedd, now being called Dr. Professor Z, the Emperor of Evil himself, had never looked so cute. His red skin and silver armor seemed to be handmade, every curve of his face mask was perfect, the slits that lined his muscles immaculate. The small plastic figure was leaned from side to side with the words so that the imagination of the boy playing with it could pretend that it was talking.

_Never Dr. Professor Z! You surrender because you will never beat us Power Rangers! _The Red Power Ranger, leader of the first ever team of Power Rangers, tiny Blade Blaster clutched in one hand and flanked by the rest of the original Power Ranger team, stood directly opposite of his enemy. The Ranger team, while tiny, actually benefited from being small and cute and while their figures seemed more mass produced then handmade, they looked heroic and strong even while miniature. The six of them together, striking frozen poses, made quite an impressive sight.

Dr. Professor Z was not intimidated._ We shall see! Mwahahahaa!_

"Boom! The entire planet shakes and then…um…a really big spaceship shows up!" A hand flew a large plastic model of the Megaship around through the air, while making whooshing sounds. It stopped, hovering over the various scattered figures below. A tiny figure is placed on top of it. "It's Evil Overlady…..um…..Overlady Princess Rita!"

The detail on the tiny plastic Rita was amazing, from the swirls of color on her dress to the pointed tips of her headdress. Her staff sparkled, made from a shiny plastic but with the same attention to the smallest detail. It fit in her molded fist perfectly. The only flaw in the illusion was that there was a smile painted on her face instead of the scowl she usually wore. _Mwahahahaha! Both of you fools are doomed! I am here to conquer Earth and I will destroy anyone who gets in my way! Including you Professor Dr. Z!" _

The plastic Rita zoomed through the air, landing next to the small figure of Lord Zedd. "Overlady Princess Rita and Professor Dr. Z have been enemies for a long time. They hate each other. The start to argue but the Green Ranger butts in."

The Green Ranger is pushed ahead of the others, one of his arms is straightened to point at the two villains. _Enough, it's time to fight!_

A hand tossed the figures into the air, hi-yah and pew sounds resonating around them. The figures land, most lying haphazardly in a pile but two landed separately. The Mighty Morphin Red Ranger and Rita lay close together, Reds arm extends into Rita's face. "Red Ranger, leader of the Power Rangers, alone is undefeated. He still refuses to give up."

The hand pick the pair up and moves them as words are supplied.

_I will defeat you Rita! _

_Mwahahaha, I doubt it Red Ranger! Not with my new secret weapon you won't!_

"Arthur! Arthur! Are you ready for school yet," a feminine voice yelled up the stairs. "We're going to be late if you don't get down here now!"

Arthur yelped, dropping the two dueling action figures onto his desk. School! He looked down at his clothes, still in his pajamas. He ran a hand through his hair, greasy. Which meant that he hadn't taken a shower this morning. Homework lay unfinished on the desk, swept aside to make room of his epic battles. Whoops.

"Um…yeah," he yelled back, "Just give me a few more seconds!" He quickly tossed on some clothes picked up straight from the floor, dirty ones that he'd worn three days ago and still hadn't washed. He pulled the comb through his hair once or twice, hoping that nobody would notice the gleam of grease in his hair. He grimaced at himself in the mirror, maybe he could say it was hair gel.

"Arthur!"

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" He threw one last regretful glance at the pile of action figures. He had just been getting to the part where Rita, that is, Overlady Princess Rita, attacks the Red Ranger. But school! Always interrupting just when thing got good!

"Arthur, now!"

With a growl, he stormed out of the room. Mind already scrambling for an excuse about the undone homework, "I'm coming!"

As the sound of screeching tires faded, there was movement in the mountain of plastic. The small Red Ranger lifted his synthetic head and stared straight into the startled eyes of Rita Repulsa, "What?"

* * *

Of all the people in the universe, of all the monsters he'd ever fought, Jason Lee Scott found himself lying on top of the Empress of Evil herself. He reiterated his astonishment, "What?"

"Jason!"

Cold hands pulled him away and helped him stand. And while trying to stand was when he realized the strangeness in his body. That his movements were off. Straightening his arm was a slow and strenuous process, walking stiff and sluggish. He couldn't turn his waist at all.

Working his arms up and he forced his inflexible hands around his helmet. With a grunt, he tugged. "It's stuck! Ok, what is going on?"

Taking his hands off his helmet he glanced down, now aware of the odd way his suit felt. It was his pride and joy, the Power Suit belonging to the Red Power Ranger. The diamond pattern on it seemed to be correct but he still had the feeling that it was not the one he normally wore. It reflected light much more than it usually did, like it had a sheen to it. His gloves were stuck where they were and his ever resilient boots were directly connected to the pants, making it uncomfortable to bend his knees. No, it was close to his suit but it just didn't feel right.

Standing next to him were his teammates, the Pink, Green, Black, Blue and Yellow Power Rangers, their suits seemingly made of the same kind of material as his. Their mortal enemies Rita and Lord Zedd were also nearby for some reason. The pair of villains looked the same as ever, evil and wicked if a bit shorter and slightly less intimidating.

Realizing the size difference, his eyes moved past his friends and enemies to a pencil holder that towered over them with pencils and pens seven stories high. Paper as thick as his finger, was piled up a few feet away. The surface they were standing on seemed to be wood of some kind and it stretched off for yards and yards in each direction. Moving beyond even that he found that they were in some kind of oversized bedroom. A very tall bed was crammed in one corner, strange posters of an assortment of fictional Ranger teams he'd never heard of covered the walls around it. Who were the Dino Thunder Power Rangers? Was there a TV show based on them that he'd never heard of? Trash covered most of the rest of the floor. Crumpled up papers and empty boxes were mixed with clothes and blankets. In another corner the remains of a cushion fort was sagging against the walls.

He turned and was about to ask if anyone had ever heard of another Ranger team when something out of place caught his eye. Above them, sitting atop a quartet of books of unimaginable thickness, was a spaceship. A real, live space ship! He pointed it out and was about to say something when Rita finally struggled to her feet, distracting them.

She looked from Lord Zedd to the Power Rangers, angry eyes settling on the Rangers. Lord Zedd marched over to stand next to her. "What have you done to us Rangers," she demanded. She pointed her staff at them, "Return us to normal or I will destroy you!"

"Oh calm down Rita," Tommy Oliver, the Green Ranger, said, "We didn't do this."

Rita glared, not believing him, "I don't believe you." She just knew that, somehow, this was all their fault. "This is all your fault! Somehow!"

"Don't act like you don't know," Zack Taylor, the Black Ranger, growled. "I have a date with Angela later! You'd better magic us back to normal, now! She'll kill me if I'm late again!"

Lord Zedd threw his staff from one hand to the other and straightened, drawing himself to his full menacing height, "You are not listening Rangers! We did not do this and you will stop accusing us! Do you really think that we are so out of marvelous plans to defeat you that we would stoop to merely making you smaller? And us along with you?"

The Rangers exchanged bemused glances through their helmets. "What about the Baseball Monster," Trini Kwan, the Yellow Ranger asked, amusement evident in her voice, "That was pretty lame."

"That pig thing that ate everything…what was its name…Pudgy Pig," Jason laughed, "I'm sorry but for something that could possibly cause the world to starve to death, it was a pathetic and _ugly_ monster!"

"Or the Goo Fish," Kimberly, the Pink Ranger, said with a chuckle, "That was a particularly gross monster of a failure."

"Actually, I found that one to be quite intimidating," Billy, the Blue Ranger said. While he had helped to defeat the monster, he still wasn't completely over his fear of fish and that particular gooey freak still haunted his dreams.

"Remember the Frankenstein Monster? She made an actual Frankenstein Monster!"

Rita had had enough, "I've had enough! I will not allow you to insult _my_ monsters!" She waved her arms, wand flailing wildly around so rapidly that it bent noticeably. She started chanting, her words growing in volume and tempo until she flung her wand hand towards the Rangers with a, "HA!"

The Rangers waited for something to happen, as it always did when Rita pointed her staff at things. But the longer they waited, the more they remained the same. Still unable to take off their helmets, still small, still not dead or burned to a crisp. They laughed.

Rita stuttered, "Bu..but! My powers! MY POOOOWERRRRS!"

Lord Zedd patted her consolingly on the shoulder, snarling in a way that told the world to run, "Don't worry my dear, we'll punish those who dared to treat us with so little respect! They will rue the day they crossed Lord Zedd!" He stabbed the air with his staff and laughed loudly. He gratuitously continued this for a couple of minutes until he realized that the Rangers were ignoring him and talking amongst themselves. "What?" He turned to complain to Rita but noticed that she was ten feet away, also ignoring him, staring at the strangeness around them. Incised, he stormed over to her, "Rita! I was cackling!"

Rita glanced at him, "I noticed." She returned to scanning the room, her posture tight and her voice soft, drastically different from her usual gruff tone, "Something's going on. I can't feel the magic Ed." She shook her arm, "My arm." She shook her staff, "My staff." She ran a hand over her pointy headdress, "My hair." Growling, she stomped the ground with her foot, the vulnerability fleeing like so many enemies had before her rage, "I will not allow this!" Turning and shoving past Zedd, she darted over to the Rangers, voice returning to its original force, "Rangers, I have a deal for you! You can work for me now and I'll let you all live!"

* * *

*Authors Note(s)*

And so here we go! This is a short and strange chapter, just kind of setting the tone. I'm not trying to introduce the whole setting right away although that's not too far down the road.

This one is going to be a fun one. I can already tell by how many ideas I have on the concept alone and how much I've already written. I'm really excited about this one, it's fun and enjoyable and I have a few twists planned that I think you'll like.

I'm writing this for fans of all familiarity but I can't explain everything. If you have a question about something, ask and it shall be answered. Also be sure to read the AN, which you probably already will if your reading this right now, because I'll explain a few meta things about the story.

Meta notes 1:

_Italicized_ _words_ when not used for emphasis are the words Arthur is speaking for the figures.

"Word in Quotes" are words that people speak for themselves.

Right…this is where I'm supposed to ask you to review. Will you review? Pwetty Pwease? Although you already know if you're going to review, don't you? You've already made up your mind. Well let's see if I can change your mind with a plate of chocolate chip cookies. You'll have to buy the stuff and bake them yourself of course but, hey, it's the thought that counts.

Chapter 2: Coming Tuesday


	2. Chapter 2: Splitting Up

Chapter 2 – Splitting Up

"Look, I don't like it either," Jason said, trying to keep the incredulousness out of his own voice. Working alongside Rita? It went against every heroic bone in his body. But she was the sorceress, not him and this situation was beyond anything they had faced before. They were as small as a little girls Barbie dolls! She might know some smidgen of magic that could get them back to normal and back home. But if she tried to double cross them, he would nearby to make sure she paid.

Tommy forced Jason to face him, putting his mask right in front of Jason's, "I will not work for Rita, Jason! Never again!"

Kimberly pulled him away before the testosterone overwhelmed them and someone threw a punch, "It's not like that Tommy. We won't actually be working for Rita, just with her. Until we figure this whole thing out."

"Don't worry, we won't let her turn you evil again Tommy," Zack said cheerfully. "Besides we eventually kicked some sense in you the first time, we can do it again if we need to."

Tommy jerked away, "That's easy for you to say. You don't remember the thrill, the raw pleasure, of beating the crap out of people you actually liked when in your right mind. I won't go through that again."

Trini, sensing that Tommy was about to slip into sulk mode, moved away and whispered to Billy, "Any luck reaching Alpha or Zordon?"

Billy shook his head, continuing to fiddle with his helmet, "Whoever made these fake suits, didn't put a radio in them." He pointed to his wrist, "And our communicators are missing." He sighed, "I'm afraid that the probability of our finding a method of contacting either Zordon or Alpha is very low."

The two discussed the possibility of building another communicator out of anything they could find. They eventually came to the conclusion that in this super sized world, finding the right components wouldn't be a real problem, it was that said components would be ten times too large for them to use.

After a few minutes of consoling comments from Jason and Kimberly and taking a few additional minutes to protect Zack from a raging Tommy when one snarky comment went too far, Tommy eventually relented. With the explicit promise that he could say I told you so if anything went wrong and this did turn out to be a trap.

Kimberly gave him a comforting hug which seemed to cheer him up considerably. "It'll be ok Tommy."

Jason got the attention of Trini and Billy who were now arguing about whether or not they could make the parts they need while they were all three and a half inches high and told them what they were doing. Billy nodded while Trini seemed slightly more worried.

"I don't believe that we can trust Rita or Zedd. Are you sure this is a good idea?"

Jason shrugged, "Not really. But it's all I've got at the moment. Can you think of another plan?"

"…no…but, Jason. It's Rita and Zedd!"

"I know."

Trini stared at Jason who stared solidly back. Trini wished she could meet his eyes and determine if this was just some macho I'm not afraid of my enemies thing or if this was an actual leadership, I can put aside my hate and work with my enemies thing. She had to trust Jason that it was the latter one. She nodded.

Then, as one team and with the single minded precision that only the Power Rangers could pull off, they leapt from their talking spot on top of an alarm clock, flipped twice in the air, and landed in a perfect six person pose.

Furiously trying not to look impressed, Rita crossed her arms and scowled, "Well Rangers? Do we have a deal?"

Jason nodded, "We do. We help each other get back to normal and we hold a truce until then. We won't attack you and you won't attack us directly or with monsters or magic."

"Anymore than she already did," Zack muttered under his breath. "We could fill up our own spell book with all the spells she's thrown at us."

"All right then Rangers," Lord Zedd growled, "But none of this, once we work together, we become fond of each other nonsense! I hate all of you do-gooders and I always will!"

Tommy laughed dryly, "Don't worry, I doubt that will be a problem."

* * *

"Red Ranger, Green Ranger, Blue Ranger and I will search the east end of this room," Lord Zedd intoned. "Black Ranger, Yellow Ranger and Pink Ranger will go with Rita to scour the west side."

Kimberly eyed Rita, remembering the time she had been forced to wear that outfit. She didn't think Rita knew about the incident but didn't want to chance it if Rita held some sort of grudge about that rather embarrassing episode. But the other option was going with Zedd who actually instigated the episode. But then she would be with Tommy. Rita or Tommy. It was an amazingly quick decision. "Um, Tommy, I'm coming with you. Billy can trade places with me."

Billy shrugged, "It's fine with me. I was hoping to talk to Trini about our communication problems anyway."

Lord Zedd growled, "If you are done rearranging my well thought out groupings, Rangers?" He didn't wait for their annoyed retort, instead just walking away, expecting them to follow.

Billy joined Rita's group while Kimberly, Jason and Tommy nodded at the others and reluctantly went after Zedd.

Rita examined her group, she wasn't impressed. "Rangers!... I'm not impressed." She frowned, then continued. "Oh well, I'm used to working with what I get."

She pointed to Billy, "So I get the smart one." Trini. "The tough girl." And Zack, "And the jokester." She pressed her hands to her head and sighed, "Great so it's Finster, Scorpina and Baboo all over again!"

"Did she just call me Baboo? Isn't he that little monkey guy," Zack asked in disbelief. He didn't know whether to laugh or knock Rita across the room.

"At least you're not a scorpion," Trini replied, annoyed.

"Yeah, but Scorpina was hot," Zack said with a sigh. "Boy I loooove fighting her."

Trini rolled her eyes but since her helmet was stuck on, covering her eyes, she did the next best way to let Zack know he was being obnoxious. She smacked the back of his head.

He was unrepentant and coolly responded, "Well she is."

Billy just shook his head, Zack would never learn.

"Rangers! I'm dying of old age here," Rita called from some distance away. They hadn't even noticed her walk away.

They started to follow her, when she pointed to the strange space ship Jason had noticed earlier, "I say we start close. Climb up there and see if it's dangerous! If it is, kill it!"

Trini mumbled something unbecoming of a young lady of her intelligence and stalked towards Rita. Zack and Billy followed, torn between amusement at the comment and agreeing with it.

* * *

As they walked, scaling piles of paper and struggling across fields of crumpled candy wrappers, Jason was getting the hang their strange situation. He was working out that if he rolled his feet, walking became easy. He had also worked out the tuantness in his arms and shoulders. Although this had the side effect of his arms now being strangely loose and bendy but he would rather them be flexible than stiff. He still wasn't sure how good he would be at fighting but he was confident that he could at least run if necessary. Tommy and Kimberly walked alongside him, Tommy with his arm around Kimberly. Both were watching Lord Zedd who was storming ahead of them. He couldn't tell through their helmets but he was sure they were glaring daggers at his back. None of them liked things the way they were. Hell, his instinct was telling him to yell hi-ya and attack. He couldn't but oh, he wanted to. Working with ones enemy. Zordon would be proud of them for being able to put aside their differences but he would also tell them to be careful. These two would have no trouble turning on them at the first opportunity. He clenched his fists, they would have to be watched. He wouldn't let them hurt his team.

* * *

With a slight nod, Kimberly came to the decision that, even though she was so very small, this wasn't as bad as other times she'd been kidnapped. There was light here, and fog didn't cover the floor. And her friends were here with her. She'd hated all those times the monsters seemed to come after her. Being stuck in a dark, cold place usually wasn't the scary part. It was being alone. But now Tommy was walking beside her and Jason next to him and she wasn't afraid. These two would figure this all out and get them home. If they didn't then Billy and Trini would. Her team had never failed to save her before and she didn't think even this would stop them for long. They were the Power Rangers and _nothing_ stopped them for long.

A surge of resolution poured through her and with it Kimberly felt something weighty drop into her hand. She looked down but there was nothing there. Odd, she thought. It almost felt like her Power Bow. She clenched her hand into a fist and the feeling vanished. Weird. She looked around, now aware that something was off. There was something big that she was missing.

She looked at Jason, his blade blaster now holstered on his hip. His Power Sword was missing along with her Bow and Tommy's Dragon Dagger but since those normally had to be summoned, it wasn't unusual that he wasn't lugging it around with him. The Tyrannosaurus Power Coin sparkled brightly in the Power Morpher on his belt. She checked that her own Pterodactyl Coin was safe. She defiantly didn't want to lose that. Another memory flickered on and off in her mind but it never focused enough for her to recognize it. Everything about Jason was normal. So what was she missing?

Still looking for the oddness, she examined Lord Zedd. His deep red skin and silver armor seemed duller than normal but then their suits were off as well. He carried his staff with chrome Z with his usual confidence. He sure seemed normal, if slightly less cruel. Normally by now he would have attacked them. But he just talked. Still, he might be just as unnerved as they were. There was no reason to think he wouldn't return to blasting them with magic the instant they got home. So nothing too off there either.

That just left Tommy. She glanced up at his masked face, now glad that her own mask hid her blush. Oh Tommy. Shaking herself mentally, she forced herself to examine him clinically. He certainly didn't act like there was something wrong but the more she looked at him, the more something in the dark corner of her mind screamed at her to pay attention. She focused her thought. It was something to do with his suit. She stared at it. The dark green had always clashed with that giant gold shield he wore. Dark green…gold shield. Something about this was wrong. What… A faint scene came to mind, wispy and distant. Why could she see Jason wearing the shield?

Her mind froze and the vision vanished. Her train of thought derailed itself so that she began to wonder about the strangest things until her misgivings about her situation shrank into nothingness. She even forgot that she had been looking for something.

Tommy tightened his arm around her, " You ok?"

"Yeah," Kimberly giggled, "I was just imagining what kind of kids Zedd plus Rita would have."

"Tiny Zeddlings? Now _that_ is funny," Tommy laughed. Then he abruptly stopped, "Actually, I think it's a little more frightening than funny."

"Why?"

"Imagine having those two as parents."

Kimberly shivered. Rita trying to be motherly and clean up scraped knees. Zedd reading a silly bedtime story. The pair changing diapers. She just couldn't imagine it, it seemed too…out of character for them. "Good point. I feel sorry for any kid those two would have. Yikes."

* * *

"Rangers," Lord Zedd yelled, stopping abruptly. They had been walking for awhile now but there was really nothing of interest around them. Other than a few papers marked with giant red F's and a whole lot of trash, everything on the nearby horizon was useless. Until Lord Zedd spotted something strange. "Who is that?" He pointed with his Z-topped staff towards something lying unmoving on the ground in front of him.

Jason walked around Zedd, who was standing in the way and obviously not going to move, and saw a strange man lying in what seemed to be a very uncomfortable position. A man with bright blond hair wearing a brown cape that covered his body but the hood had fallen off his head. "I don't know."

Tommy cautiously walked to him, kneeling down beside him. He placed a hand on his chest and paused, "He's dead." With a sad sigh, he stood and started to walk away, wondering who this had been, what had killed him and why he was small like them.

"I'm really not you know."

Tommy whirled around and saw the guy smiling. His eyes were still closed but he had defiantly said something.

"Um, hello," Kimberly said gingerly, taking a few steps towards him. "Are you ok?"

The guys eyes opened and he looked at them. "Well, this is unexpected."

"But...but you had no heartbeat," Tommy insisted, "You should dead!"

"No," the man said, "I'm made of plastic and therefore don't have a heartbeat." He sat up and considered them with curious eyes, "Where have you guys been all this time? We thought you must have been able to escape." He frowned, "Or died trying. But I suppose it's good that you didn't die."

"Yeah," Jason said, "we think so too. We kind of enjoy the not being dead part."

Lord Zedd realized that the guys cape had fallen away from his body, revealing a silver, very Ranger like uniform. The only real difference it had to the Rangers suits he was familiar with was it had multi colored squares on the front instead of connecting white diamonds. "Great," he growled, "There are more of you? What's a villain got to do to get a break around here?" He had trouble with six Rangers, just how many of them was there? Surely there couldn't be more than this… He found himself wishing to the darkest powers that there weren't many more.

* * *

*AN*

A short explanation for those who didn't watch the newer, more…'explosive'… seasons, in the Operation Overdrive mega ultra super crossover 'Once a Ranger' it was revealed that Rita and Zedd had a nasty son named Thrax. He looks like some weird hybrid of the two but beyond being a odd looking fellow, was about as effective as his parents. That is to say, not very.

Ok, I should have done this on day one…

It's Reviewin time! Red Angry Reviewer! Blue Still-on-the-Fence Reviewer! Pink Bubbly Reviewer! Yellow Happy Reviewer! Black Random Reviewer! Radical Reviewin Ranger Squad Go!

^_^!


	3. Chapter 3: The Question of Identity

Chapter 3 – The Question of Identity

"You know, it's really dark in here," Zack muttered, ducking through the doorway he'd just forced open. "And I'm starting to think these aren't even our real suits! They feel weird."

"Zack," Trini asked patiently, holding her arm out the door so the gleam of light reflecting from it was more noticeable, "did our uniforms _ever_ shine like this?"

"No. But how are we still stronger than normal, how do we still jump so high?" He pointed to his helmet, "And why can't I take off my helmet?"

Billy tapped his fist against his helmet, "I'm not sure but I believe that whatever spell shrank us down and sealed us inside our suits was not able to remove our abilities. We retain the strength and skills of Power Rangers while being one twentieth of the size."

"Is there anything up there," Rita's voice called from down below. "I haven't heard any screaming!"

"Come on," Trini said in a strained voice. She was holding back her temper and not enjoying it, Rita's bossing them around had started grating on her nerves early and wasn't getting any better the more she bossed them around. "Maybe we can find something in this ship. Some clue as to how we got here." Her face broke into a grin even though no one could see it, "Who knows, maybe it was aliens?"

"What," Zack laughed, "again?"

"It's no wonder you could never defeat me," Rita's voice called again. "You are just too slow!"

Trini growled, "The sooner we fix this the sooner I can punch that witch right between the eyes."

Zack leaned closer to Trini, concerned, "Are you feeling ok? You seem to be more…violent than usual."

"I'm fine!"

"Ok, ok…"

Trini sighed, she didn't want to snap at Zack. "Sorry, I'm feeling a bit off."

"It's ok," Billy said comfortingly, "I think we all are. We're in close proximity to Rita. Prolonged exposure is sure to have some side effects."

Zack stared at Billy, "Man…did you just make a joke?"

"I am not completely unfamiliar with humor Zack." Billy sometimes questioned if his friends thought he was nothing beyond the smart guy. It grated on his nerves.

"I know dude, I've just never heard you make one."

"What did Zero say to Eight?"

Zack thought about it but couldn't come up with an answer, "I donno, what?"

"Nice belt."

Zack paused then started laughing loudly, "Ha! That's funny Billy!"

Billy was miffed that he still sounded surprised. He would have to revise this opinion of him and force his friends to notice that he could laugh and joke just as much as they could. Maybe if he started using smaller words…

* * *

"What do you mean, you're plastic? Who are you?"

The guy stood, rolling his shoulders slowly, "My name is Zhane and I mean exactly what I said. You and me, and the Pink Ranger, the Red Ranger and…" He scanned Lord Zedd from head to toe, "Is that Lord Zedd?"

Lord Zedd grinned, which consisted of his metal mouth plate twitching upwards slightly, "I see my horrifying reputation precedes me."

Zhane shrugged, "Not really, it's more like your hilarious failures."

Furious, Lord Zedd snarled, pointing his staff at him, intending, if his magic didn't work to simply attack, "I will not be spoken to in this…" He was very rudely interrupted by Zhane crossing the space between them in an instant and putting his face right in Lord Zedd's.

Zhane smiled grimly, "Lord Zedd. I have heard of you from the Earth Rangers. And I have fought monsters that would make you crawls into your Dark Dimension out of fear and never leave. I have defended my planet from threats that even you would fear to face and _you…_" He took a single step back, reached inside his cloak and pulled out his Super Silverizer, swinging it within hair's width of Lord Zedds face, "do not scare me at all."

Zedd roared and slashed at him with his staff. Zhane easily blocked it with his Silverizer, knocking it out of his hands, sending it spinning away. Zedd glowered down at Zhane, "Strike me down Ranger. End this pathetic game."

Zhane shook his head, Silverizer vanishing beneath the cloak again. He turned his back to Zedd, facing the other Rangers, "As much as I want to, I cannot." He smiled smugly, "Besides it would be a waste of my time and energy."

Zedd tried to grab him while his back was turned but Zhane sidestepped the attack and kicked backwards, knocking Zedd off his feet. The Lord of Evil fell to the ground with a thud.

Rolling his shoulders again, Zhane walked over to the original Rangers, "Hey guys, long time no see!"

Jason exchanged wondering glances with Tommy and Kimberly, this guy had taken Zedd down like it was nothing! "Um…do we know you?"

"Oh, right." He smiled winningly, "I forgot you still don't know!" He waved at them, "Well it's a wonderful story but it's not mine to tell. Come on, I'll take you to where we've all gathered."

"Who are you," Tommy finally asked, "We're not going anywhere with you until we know."

Zhane grinned again, striking a very well practiced pose, "I'm Zhane, the Silver Space Ranger!"

When none of the Rangers acted in awe his shoulders slumped slightly. "I really hate it when people don't know who I am," he muttered, "I mean I've saved at least two planets and am working on my third!" With a slightly less haughty attitude, Zhane sighed and started to walk away, "Come on then. I'm sure the others will be ecstatic that your finally here."

Lord Zedd growled from the ground. This new Ranger…

Zhane glanced at him, "You too Eddy, I'm sure they want you there too and not wondering around and just being annoying."

* * *

"See anything," Billy asked in a hushed whisper. His question echoed with unnatural clarity and strength through the dark and empty space.

Trini and Zack had decided that Billy would stay by the door in case there was something hiding inside, they would have back up. He had pointed out that he wasn't the best back up but Trini assured him that he was more than a match for anything that could be in the darkness. This brightened his outlook a bit, he always felt more of a burden to his friends. They could fight, he couldn't unless he was morphed. But even morphed as he was now, he was also feeling the same strangeness his teammates were although where they thought it merely strange, he was fascinated by the way he moved now. His tested his flexibility by leaping into the air and kicking. He misjudged the tightness of his body and hit the ground with one leg still out in front of him. This was taking some getting used to. Struggling to his feet, he called out again, louder, "Trini! Zack!"

"Yeah Billy," Trini's voice called back, sounding like it travelled a great distance.

"Find anything?"

"Not yet…wait…hold on." Trini's voice tapered off.

Billy waited for her to call out again. Tell him what was happening, he begged. Instead he heard startled shouts. He recognized Zack's distinctive attack yell quickly followed by Trini's. Something was happening in there and his friends were in trouble! "Zack! Trini!"

The sounds of desperate battle leaked past Billy. He rushed towards them. "Trini, Zack!

The corridors seemed to be endless, wrapping back on themselves. It didn't help that this deep into the ship, there was little to no light. He just followed the sounds. After running through and into walls and doors, he finally burst into a room where he saw flashes of Yellow and Black and another color too dark to see. He leapt in, right at whatever was attacking his friends.

The thing spun, kicking him away. Zack him caught him before he hit the floor, steadying him, then jumped towards the attacker. He punched, much slower than he was used to, at where he thought the head was, only to find a hand blocking it's path. The hand grasped his fist and twisted it, twisting his arm and forcing him to spin to the ground. Whatever was wrong with them, they could still feel pain. He yelped.

Trini growled and flew at him but the attacker who shouted at her. "Stop! Enough."

"Why," Trini asked, skidding to a stop, "you attacked us."

"And you were very enthusiastic about fighting me back but might we move outside where we could judge for ourselves whether or not this is necessary?"

Zack, whose arm was still being twisted uncomfortably, wheezed, "Yeah. Let's do that."

Billy, curious about the obvious non-monster of the attacker agreed, "Yes. Trini, I believe that this is the ideal option…I mean…yeah, let's do that. Man."

"Fine," Trini said, obviously reluctant, "But if I find out this is a trick…" She let the threat hang in the air.

The attacker let go of Zack arm. He darted away, cradling his arm. "Ow!"

Trini motioned towards the door, her bright color slightly more noticeable in the near total dark than the others, "You first."

After a tense walk back to the door, the light finally revealed a brown cloak covering a relatively tall man. Once the last of them exited the ship, the man turned, bright brown eyes regarding them, examining them, taking in their colored costumes with a very calm glance. He stared at them in silence, pushing back the hood of his cloak so that they could see the blond streaks lighting up his dark hair.

"Rangers! Who's that with you?"

The original Rangers jumped, they had forgotten about Rita.

The man turned and stared down at Rita, "Rita Repulsa."

She glared back up at him, "And you are…?"

He didn't answer instead sweeping aside the cloak, a gust of wind appearing from nowhere, making it flutter dramatically, revealing a very red Power Suit. "I am Andros, the Red Space Ranger." He turned back to the three Rangers, strong confidence almost visibly spilling from him. "We've all been waiting for you. For a long time now. Although, we were hoping that you, at least, escaped from the Enemy's evil plans." He shrugged, "But now that you _are_ here, we had best get you somewhere safe and explain the situation."

"Yeah," Trini growled. "I think that would be nice. You know, instead of attacking us like that!"

Andros shrugged again then leapt from the books, "You were intruding in my ship. It's not the first time that's happened. Come, it is dangerous for you right now."

"Why should we trust you," Zack asked. This guy reminded him somewhat of Jason but Jason wouldn't have just attacked them like that. He didn't like people that just started throwing punches out of nowhere.

"Because if you don't, you will most likely die a painful death."

"Is that a threat?" Zack balled up his fists. He didn't like people threatening him either.

"No, merely the reality." He started to walk off, "I am not going to make you but it would be in your best interests for _all of you_" his emphasis told Rita that it included her too, "to accompany me back."

"Back where exactly," Billy asked, wondering why this guy thought they would follow him. Sure, he seemed to be a Power Ranger but Tommy had been evil once, who was to say this wasn't another evil Ranger? And why wasn't his helmet stuck on too?

"To the Command Center, where all of this will be explained."

Those first four words worked where all the threats and convincing arguments would have failed. The Command Center meant Zordon and Zordon meant answers.

Trini regretted letting Zedd split them up. Having the rest of her team would make her feel safer if they followed this strange attacker to a strange place in strange circumstances. "What about the others?"

"The others?"

"The rest of our team."

Andros started, "The rest of your team is here?" He looked around them, "Where are they?"

"Lord Zedd, Rita's…um…friend, took them off exploring that way," Trini waved in the direction the others had gone.

Andros actually smiled slightly, "Oh, well that's ok."

"We're not going to wait for them to come back?"

"No, I am certain they will find their way there."

"Why?"

"A friend of mine is over that way."

"Uh huh," Billy said, "And is this friend also a Power Ranger?" He was starting to get a feel for the situation. And was coming to terms with the idea that there were other Rangers out there. Rangers who weren't a hundred years into the past. Or evil. Or Puddies.

"Yes."

Zack grunted, "That's just not fair! I like being the only Rangers!"

Andros turned and stared at him, "You like being the only line of defense for your planet? Even though you cannot be everywhere, protect everyone. Even though you will eventually fail and someone will seriously injured or die?"

"We haven't ever failed."

Andros shook his head sadly, "None of us are perfect. We cannot save them all." He looked at them all then glanced at Rita, "One day, one of _them_ will gain the upper hand and the Power Rangers will fail. Do you really want to be that team and watch the world around you suffer under the hands of someone truly evil?"

"Well…"

"Come on," Andros interrupted, starting to walk towards the edge of the desk. He didn't want to get into that right now. There were lives at stake. "We need to get there soon. And I'm not going to let him beat me there."

* * *

*AN*

Two new Rangers? Andros and Zhane? What is going on here? And why isn't there a symbol for the interrobang(?+!=interrobang) on my keyboard?

Well golly gee, I wonder who else is going to show up? I mean, it's not like it isn't in the description or anything…

Read and Review, if you would;

This sentence should rhyme with could!

If you don't, it's all ok;

I still like you anyway!

:-)


	4. Chapter 4: A Few Revelations

Chapter 4 – A Few Revelations

Zhane led the three Rangers and their foe down the leg of the table they had woken up on. They had insisted on going back to try and find the rest of their friends but could find no one. Zedd had even tried yelling Rita's name as loudly as he could but she didn't pop up and start yelling back at him so she wasn't nearby. They followed Zhane on with the promise that they would come back and check for them in a few hours.

The floor, the carpet, was soft and plush, and therefore hard to walk on. But just as they had adjusted to the change in their body's flexibility, they adjusted so that they could keep up with Zhane who ran easily across it. Well, most of them anyway.

Lord Zedd tramped through it as if trying to force it out of his way. Very much in keeping with his philosophy on life. Any obstacle in his way, anyone that tried to stand against him, must be shoved aside and destroyed. This new Ranger, the silver one. He scowled, watching the figures in front of him. He had spoken to him with scorn, showing none of the grudging respect that even the other Rangers did. The silver one was now in his way. Threatening him, challenging him. In front of his mortal enemies now less! He could hear the fear he'd built up in the Rangers slowly disappearing the longer this insult went unpunished. This he could not allow. For him to conquer, to destroy the Rangers, they had to fear him. The mere mention of his name should send them fleeing for cover.

"Keep up Eddy," the silver one called back to him. Mockingly.

Zedd heard the Pink one giggle and his spine straightened in fury. Oh this silver one, so callous and dismissive of him. He would pay dearly. But he could do the math in his head. While he might be able to take the silver one on by himself, when he wasn't taken by surprise, he had no doubt that the Pink, Green and Red Rangers would stand with the silver one against him. Their truce was only to discover what had happened to them and would break very easily. He had no desire to die while this small. So he set his rage on simmer and forced his legs to move faster, staying silent lest he give away his craving to attack the smart mouthed silver one too early and spoil the coming surprise.

* * *

"We're here."

Zhane finally stopped next to the bed. A dark blue dust ruffle, eight times as tall than they were now, hid what was beneath the bed. A dresser sat next to the bed, between the bed and the door.

"Before we go on," Kimberly said, feeling reluctant to trust this strange man who was dressed like a Power Ranger. "I want to know, really, what's under there because if something jumps out and scares me, I'll blast you so far, your identical ancestors will wince."

Tommy nodded, "Me too. We're not moving until we know there's not a monster under there."

"Or that it's not a trap," Jason added.

"Or that every goody two shoes is in a line waiting to destroy me," Zedd said with a frown.

Zhane shrugged, "Trust me Eddy, you're the least of our worries right now." He smirked at the Rangers, "But you three…well…you'll feel right at home. You have nothing to worry about. No one beyond this ruffle wants to hurt you." He paused and rethought that, "Well almost no one."

"Zhane!"

Zhane looked past them, a true and full smile lighting up his face, "Andros!" He pushed roughly past the Rangers, "Andros!"

The Rangers turned and saw Trini, Billy, Zack and Rita accompanying by a tall man they assumed to be Andros.

Zhane ran up, happily clasping arms with Andros, "I see you found the other three."

Andros nodded, "We had a bit of a misunderstanding but I was able to convince them to accompany me here." He looked up at the three Rangers that had come with Zhane, "And these are the last of them?"

Zhane shrugged, "As far as we know they are."

The original Rangers met each other in the middle, keeping their distance from the now whispering Zhane and Andros.

"What happened," Jason asked Zack. "What kind of 'misunderstanding' did you have?"

"He attacked us," Trini answered. "We were exploring that spaceship parked on top of the pile of books. It was dark in there, none of us could see and he just attacked."

Jason leaned in close, the rest of his team following suit, "The real question is, can we trust them?"

"They seem to be Rangers too," Billy noted, "Their suits are simple variations of our own. In fact, taking in the similarities between their suits, I would say they are from the same Ranger team. Unless all other Rangers have uniforms like that."

"Zhane says he's a Space Ranger," Kimberly added. "Whoever they are."

"Did Zordon or Alpha ever mention another Ranger team," Tommy asked.

"Not to me," Billy answered, having been the one who spent the most time in Command Center and thus was the one Zordon and Alpha communicated with the most.

"I have not heard of them either."

The team jumped. They hadn't noticed Lord Zedd or Rita join their huddle. Lord Zedd grunted and repeated his statement.

"We're trying to have a private conversation," Trini said. "Please go away."

Rita shook her head, "We have a truce with you, not them. Besides it's the enemy you know and I don't know them." She scowled at them, "I don't like them." She noticed the Rangers looking at her strangely, "Oh, I don't like you either but I hate them more."

Zedd agreed, "They do not treat me with the proper respect! The silver one openly mocked me!"

"We do that all the time," Zack pointed out. It was standard battle procedure to catcall the opponent and Zedd had faced them many times. He generally snarked right back at them when he wasn't just calling them foolish Rangers.

"Yes but when you do it, I can still see the way your hands shake in fear, how you hesitate to attack me directly. You properly fear me, they do not."

Tommy was beginning to feel a little uncomfortable, it almost seemed like his team and his enemies were bonding. He had to stop it. "Ok, bottom line, should we trust them?"

"No," Lord Zedd and Rita said simultaneously.

"Yes," Kimberly, Jason and Zack said together.

Trini glanced at Billy, "I don't like Andros, he never did apologize for attacking us."

Billy shrugged, "I say we go with them but be very, very cautious. They seem to know what's going on but they are talking about us in such a way that I feel like I am merely an object to them."

"Oh but you are so much more than that Mighty Morphin Blue," a strange voice said, making the huddled teens and villains jump again.

They looked up to see a short woman with cropped black hair in a white lab coat. She crossed her arms, a small frown on her face, "You are the original Power Rangers. We've been waiting for you for a long time. My name is Dr. K and it's about time you six showed up."

* * *

The six Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, two villains, two Space Rangers and one non-Ranger or villain, ducked under the dust ruffle. They were surprised to find what amounted to a city. Multi colored Christmas lights lit the space while people in various colored Ranger uniforms, including a few who were wearing clothes of different styles, strolled in and out of buildings made of everything from styrofoam cups to cereal boxes to honest-to-god gingerbread. The carpet floor had been pulled up in places to reveal the wooden floor, making an easy walkway between the buildings. The walkway they were on could be called the main road as the majority of buildings are built off of it and it seemed to best maintained.

The other people noticed the six new Rangers accompanied by two Space Rangers, they did a double take. When they took in the design on the new Rangers suits, they stopped in their tracks and stared.

People began to mutter, throwing excited glances and words at the new arrivals.

"It's them."

"The ORIGINAL Power Rangers!"

"Finally."

"I can't wait to meet them!"

"I wonder what this means?"

"Maybe we can go home now!"

As the team followed Dr. K down the main path, the people in suits began to cluster together behind them. Distinct teams appeared as those with the same design grouped together and talked eagerly.

Kimberly kept glancing behind them, noticing the rarity of Pink suits. "Are they all Rangers," she whispered to Tommy. "I can't believe Zordon wouldn't tell us if this many Rangers existed. I don't know Tommy, I don't like this."

He put his arm around her and squeezed her shoulders, "Don't worry, as long as our team is together, we can face anything."

Trini squeezed her hand on the other side. Billy took Trini's other hand without saying a word while Zack took his and Jason took Zack's. The six Rangers walked hand in hand until Dr. K stopped in front of a cereal box that had been stood up and had doors and windows cut out of it. It was located well beyond the rest of the city, in the back and out of the way.

At the sight of them holding hands, looking like something out of a cheesy TV show, she shook her head and she gestured at the box, "This is our Command Center for the time being. I realize that it's just a cereal box but it's better than the old coffee cup we started in."

"Dr. K!" A yellow suited Ranger, sans the helmet, with some kind of foot print on the front of the suit ran up, panting. Brown hair in a tight ponytail, eyes bright with concern, she gasped for breath, "Dr. K, it's Dr. O! He's having some kind of seizure!"

Dr. K glanced at the original Rangers then turned back to the girl, "Don't worry Dino Thunder…Kira… I was afraid this would happen. Make sure he can't hurt himself or anybody else and leave him be. He should get better in a few minutes."

Kira growled, "We have to be able to do something better than that! He's hurting!"

Dr. K didn't answer, instead she just pointed a thumb at Tommy.

Kira followed her finger and gasped, "Oh my god!" She stared at him in shock, "That's…that's…." Then she squealed in excitement, "I have to tell the others!" She ran off without another word.

Dr. K sighed, hand pressed against her forehead, "Well, that kind of ruined the surprise."

Andros stepped forward. "Do you want me to take them in while you take care of this," he asked pointing to the crowd still forming behind them.

"I can take care of that," Zhane said with a grin.

Dr. K shrugged, "Just tell them we'll announce something in a few minutes. Don't start any fights please."

"When do I do that," Zhane asked innocently.

Andros rolled his eyes, "Oh please Zhane, since you lost your helmet, you've been very unpredictable."

"I could say the same thing about your Spiral Saber! You are no fun anymore without it!"

Dr. K stepped in, standing directly between them, fixing them with a very stern glare, "Gentlemen! This is neither the time nor place! Control your tempers!" She noticed how the original Rangers were standing back, confused. "We've said enough. It would be safer for them to get the whole story at one time."

Andros shrugged and walked away. He was soon surrounded by Rangers whose suits had the same boxed design as his.

Zhane apologized then walked over to the crowd that closed around him, impatient for news.

Dr. K shook her head then started walking towards the building again, "Follow me. Everything will be explained inside."

Rita and Zedd, feeling the most nervous of the group, being surrounded by so many Rangers who no doubt wanted to kick them in various painful places, decided to roughly remind the Rangers of their truce.

"Don't let the kill us," Rita pleaded, "I'm too young to die!"

"Don't worry Rita," Jason said seriously, "if they start attacking anyone, we'll fight back with everything we've got."

They nodded at each other then followed Dr. K, feet hitting the ground at exactly the same time. Even Rita and Zedd found themselves in sync with the Rangers and they hated it every step of the way.

* * *

*AN*

A small glimpse of Ranger City, Ranger Town, Rangeropolis, The Settlement of Many Bright Colors. More to follow on that.

How many times can one seriously say things like 'it's just a cereal box but it's better than the old coffee cup we started in'? Boy writing this is fun:).

Also, don't you hate it when the plot velociraptors start chasing you at 3 in the morning? I do because they can open the dang doors! There's no escape! Ahhhhhh!

Read and Review, if you would be so kind. :-)!


	5. Chapter 5: The Whole Story, Partially

Chapter 5 – The Whole Story, Partially

A very large, dramatic, lightning bolt made of glitter and cardboard dominated the far wall in the room they walked into. Below it, a round table was littered with papers and a few Rangers stood around it, their back to the door. One of the uniforms looked very familiar.

"Hey," Zack yelled pointing at the offending figure, "That's my suit!"

The other Black Mighty Morphin Power Ranger turned. It wasn't Zack. The man smiled joyfully, "It's you guys!" He ran over to them, reaching out to hug Billy who stepped back in shock. "I'm so glad you're here!"

"Who are you," Billy asked. Why were there two people with Zack's suit? And why was he trying to hug him?

The man looked at them, confused. Then hit himself on the head with his hand, "Right! I keep forgetting." He held out his hand, "My name is Adam. I'm the second Black Power Ranger."

Zack didn't get it, "Huh?"

Dr. K pulled Adam back, "They haven't been briefed yet Mighty Morphin Black!" Zack made a small protest but Dr. K overran him, "You know how dangerous it is to confront them before things have been explained!"

Abashed, Adam nodded, "Right." He smiled at them shyly, "Sorry guys. Come see me when you get finished, we have a lot of catching up to do." He waved then walked back over to the table where the other Rangers were watching them with grins.

Jason noticed something, "Wait, why don't they have helmets?"

Dr. K sighed again, "I will get to that but you cannot figure it out for yourself!" She shoved Billy ahead of her, "Now come on, we must get started. The story will take awhile."

She led them out a side door of the building, around another room that they didn't go in, and into a smaller one made from small lunchbox. It was darker inside but Dr. K pressed something in the wall and it lit up. Large pictures of a over a dozen teams of Power Rangers littered the walls.

The very first one, starting the line on the left wall, was a picture of their team. Helmetless and smiling, Jason and Tommy stood in the center, Kimberly and Billy beside Jason while Zack and Trini took Tommy's side of the picture. From there there was a picture close to the first one, Kimberly, Tommy and Billy were still there but that Adam guy was in it as were two others they didn't recognize. Trini, Zack and Jason were absent.

Before they could examine the next group of photographs, Dr. K strowed to the center of the room, drawing their attention. "Please be seated."

They then noticed the multi colored chairs that were arranged in a half circle around the center of the room, facing the pictures. They each sat in the correct color chair. Rita taking a white one and Zedd the only one left which just so happened to be silver.

Dr. K looked at them each in turn, nodding once. "When we first started this, I explained the situation. But we found that Rangers had more doubts this way. You stubborn headed mules just don't trust what a strange, non-Ranger says as much as if a Ranger themselves tells you. So I will not be the one to brief you." Then she walked back out the way they came.

She returned a few minutes later with a woman in pink with a stylized arrow on her costume.

The new woman marched to the center of the room and stopped. With quick, practiced movements, she saluted each of the Rangers in turn. She hesitated when she came to the villains.

Lord Zedd helped her decision, "Salute me and I'll set you on fire."

The woman dropped her hand with a shake of her head, "My name is Jen. I'm the Pink Time Force Ranger and I'm glad to meet you."

"Time Force," Trini asked, "As in time travel?"

Jen nodded, "We'll get to that. First I should explain what we believe has happened."

Zack raised his hand, "That guy with the hair, Andros, kept making snide comments about being made of plastic."

"Zhane did too," Jason said. "It's why he didn't have a heartbeat. We thought he was dead."

"That's right." Jen held out her hand, curling it into a fist. She bent her arm at the elbow, twisting it all the way around. Twice. "We are made of plastic."

Kimberly gasped, "But…"

Jen interrupted her, "To an extent. Dr. K will explain that part in a few minutes but let me continue." She relaxed her arm and it slipped back into its normal position. The group shivered, that was just gross. "About six months ago, the Lost Galaxy Rangers woke up in this room. They were made of plastic and about three inches tall, their helmets were glued to their heads and their most of their weapons missing or inactive. Needless to say, they panicked."

Dr. K smirked, "That's putting it mildly."

"Over the next few months," Jen continued as if Dr. K hadn't even spoken, "more and more Rangers appeared. Sometimes as teams, other times one or two at a time. Everything was fine for awhile, apart from the fact that we're now action figures, until our enemies began to show up too. They blamed us for the situation. There were mini battles all the time. Ecliptor developed a grudge against Chad Lee of Lightspeed Rescue, Lothor fought the Mystic Rangers until Ninja Storm showed up and during all this we had some idiot monkey in gold armor with wings flying around demanding to know where the Red Ranger was. All this moron did was knock over our buildings while laughing loudly! We tried to catch him but for all his stupidity, the creature is slippery."

"You're getting off subject," Dr. K reminded her.

"Right. Fighting off the villains wasn't as hard as it usually was as they had lost their powers as well. They gave it their best attempts, be sure, but they were fighting amongst themselves as much as they fought us. But that concern quickly faded into the background. It didn't take long before we realized that some of our personalities had been changed. Those of us missing parts of our uniform like our helmet or gloves found that our friends thought we were acting off. Sometimes a Ranger would go crazy and act like a class clown when before they had been serious or one would lose their temper at a very close friend without reason or cause. Those missing weaponry even more severe fluctuations in temperament."

"You mean like how Andros and Zhane were great friends one second then preparing to tear each other's heads off the next," Jason asked.

"Exactly. We have tried to assist those going through such changes but it is not easy. They don't really believe they've changed." She sighed, "But beyond this, to add another puzzle needing solving, just as you have retained the strength and speed of your morphed selves, there are Rangers with powers not connected to the Grid. The Mystic Force Rangers' magic, the genetic powers of the Operation Overdrive Rangers, and so one. They have maintained those specific abilities. In the first few weeks here, we had Nick light all of the fires so we could see. We do not know why they still have these abilities but Dr. K." Jen nodded at her, "believes it has to do with the powers being connected to themselves and is not something that can be taken away."

She paused and took a deep breath, "And again, it was all fine if a bit strange. It was when the first duplicate appeared that we realized just how bizarre the situation had become. There are those few Rangers who have been called to serve on more than one Ranger team or have changed colors within the same team. Your team, while you simply refer to yourselves as the Power Rangers, we call Mighty Morphin, after your Morphing Call." She pointed at Tommy, "The Green Mighty Morphin Ranger is also the White Mighty Morphin Ranger, the Red Zeo Ranger, the Red Turbo Ranger _and_ the Black Dino Thunder Ranger. And, as of now, there are currently five Rangers claiming the name Tommy who look nearly identical, if with different colored suits and memories."

Tommy coughed, "What?"

Jen smiled briefly then her face grew dark, "Whoever did this to us split off parts of our personalities, our memories, our energy, into everything we are. Our suits, our weapons, were all given pieces of us and some of them have been scattered. Because people like Tommy and also Jason who is the Red Mighty Morphin Ranger but also the Gold Zeo Ranger, have had a larger burden to carry, separate people formed to take separate shares of the immense power they had accumulated, each with specific parts of their memories and emotions."

Tommy sputtered, "Wait! Wait! Hold on!" He put his head in his hands, "Give me a second."

Jen paused, glancing at Dr. K who shrugged. They waited until Tommy recovered. After about a minute he peeked out from between his fingers, "There are other me's?"

Jen nodded.

"And I'm, in the future, going to be a Ranger," he counted on his finger, "four more times?"

"Yes," Dr. K said, "Here now, there are five parts of the whole that is Tommy Oliver. In fact the Dr. O that you heard about earlier is the last piece of you that we are aware of. The Black Dino Thunder Ranger."

"Is he ok," Trini asked, "that girl was really upset."

Jen answered this question, "It happens the first time the separate parts of the same person come too close to each other. We should have warned them but finding you six was such a shock that it just slipped our minds in our excitement."

"Why," Billy asked. "Why was it a shock?"

She hesitated. Dr. K stepped in to fill the silence, "It's been two months since the last one of us appeared. We weren't expecting anyone else after that length of time had passed. We were hoping that the original team had escaped and was working on some way to save us. Even though you have obviously been captured and changed…" She took a step towards them, "we believe that you six Rangers, the original team, the first links in the Morphing Grid that connects all Rangers and those who work with them, are vital to reversing what evil has been done us."

"Then why are we here," Rita interjected, tired of being ignored so these people could praise her enemies. "I can sympathize with wanting to get the Rangers out of the way but why did this…greater evil…shrink those of us who are not goody two shoes as well?"

"We suppose that," Jen said, "we've been calling whoever did this the Enemy, the Enemy wanted the villains out of his, or her, way as well. Making his, or her, conquest very simple."

"How did they catch us? I, at least, am not connected to the Morphing Grid."

"But you fought those who were. You came in contact with the power of the Grid and while you are not connected to it, you have been touched by it. The Enemy removed everyone who had significant traces of the Morphing Grid on them. This includes most of the associating generals of the main villains. Whoever this was, he or she wanted everyone out of the way."

Rita glared at the Power Rangers, "Once again Rangers, this is your fault!"

Jason shook his head, ignoring the comment. He addressed Dr. K, "Why was it so urgent for you to tell us this? You acted like it was a big deal that no one else told us this."

"We are in a very delicate situation right now. We have been severely altered. Our psychological and physical makeup has been fundamentally changed," Dr. K explained. "But since you are still aware of how you should be and this idea, combined with the Power lying dormant inside you and running through us, gives us the ability to adjust ourselves ever so slightly. In other words, the more you become used to this form, the more normal your perception of it becomes. This is both dangerous and necessary. If you become so adjusted to being made of plastic, you will never be able to change back. However if you fight against the changes too much, you will realize how different you have become and freeze up. You will be locked in a dormant state forever. It is a narrow road but one we must walk it with knife like precision. If someone were to cause you to select either of these in a sudden instant without being eased into the realization, you would have most likely have died from the backlash."

"So," Billy said, one hand pressed against the mouth indention in his mask, "we can control how much we are made of plastic?"

"Exactly."

Billy shook his head then nodded. He raised his hands up to his helmet and pulled. It took a few seconds but eventually the bright blue helmet separated from suit. He pulled it all the way off. Billy's eyes sparkled in excitement as he passed a gloved hand through his hair. "I never realized how suffocating that helmet was until it was stuck."

Jason stared at him, "How did you do that?"

Billy shrugged, a grin lighting up his face. He flashed his teeth to show that he could, "I reminded myself that the helmet is supposed to come off."

"But we knew that when we first woke up," Kimberly pointed out, "We all tried to get our helmets off."

"But we were still confused as to what was going on, we didn't really _know_ they could come off." He snapped his fingers, "I suppose that's also why I didn't question the presence of Tommy as the Green Ranger or Trini, Jason and Zack. Even Kimberly. I can now distinctly recall them transferring their powers, or losing them in Tommy's case."

"Exactly," Dr. K said. She appreciated that there was someone else who understood the more complicated aspects. "If you had come to this realization on your own and begun questioning the world around you, you would have also began to fight your plastic self as it was different. We have noticed that when someone first arrives, their mind limits anything that might make them fight against their transformation until they can safely gain the insight. A slight strangeness in their strength and flexibility is hard to hide but remember that you didn't question it much beyond that." She paused then frowned, "One of our more…eccentric…mentors believes this to be traces of the Power attempting to protect you even now."

Trini was the next to pull her helmet off. She smiled, "That feels so much better."

With a toss of her hair, Kimberly's head emerged from her helmet. She sighed happily, "I love fresh air."

Zack popped his off with a loud laugh, "I am _free_ baby!"

Jason shrugged and pulled his off without a word.

Tommy, the last to accomplish this mental exercise, roughly jerked his helmet off. Setting the green helmet beside his matching green chair. "Ok, now that we can all breath again, what next? I mean, how do we go about getting home and back to normal?"

Dr. K was about to answer when a bright green blur flew into the room and started yelling, "Doc! It's an emergency!"

"I doubt, Ranger Series Green," Dr. K said tersely, "that whatever it is, it cannot wait until I am finished here."

The man frantically shook his head, floppy hair flying around his head, "No, it can't! It's the villains, a couple of them are working together!" They heard a loud explosion somewhere outside the lunch box, "And one of them has their powers back!"

* * *

*AN*

Did you catch all that?

Yes, today is what I like to call exposition day. It's where I dump a lot of the background and set up the plot. So with this out of the way, we're moving on!

Read and Review if you would.


	6. Chapter 6: New Friends

Chapter 6 – New Friends

The Rangers burst out of the lunchbox, ready to beat down some bad guys… to find the situation was already under control. The offending group of villains, being led by very large creature with smoldering red and black coloring, giant claws for hands and gills growing out of its head, had been subdued and surrounded. The gilled guy particularly seemed to be in bad shape, he was lying unmoving on the ground with ten multi colored Rangers standing in a circle around him. The other villains that had participated in the attack were either lying on the ground having been knocked out or were huddling together while being watched by even more Rangers.

The original Rangers stopped, both bemused and annoyed. They weren't used to others getting there first and were a little put off that they'd gotten riled up for nothing. But they didn't really _mind_ it either.

A detached silver head with purple eyes rolled towards them. The eyes glared at them accusingly. Kimberly gasped, "Is that someone's head?"

Jen picked it up and tossed it in the air, "Yeah, I think it belongs to Putrid. Only a few of the foot soldiers and monsters outside the main generals appeared for some reason. It's one of the _many_ questions we're working on answering."

"What's a Putrid," Kimberly asked, not really comfortable with how nonchalantly the other Pink Ranger was acting about this. She would never pick up a decapitated head much less play catch with it.

"The foot soldiers under Master Org, the enemy of the Wild Force Rangers. They're not that tough really."

"They're like Putties," Adam said, smiling and walking up to them. "A few dozen of those have shown up too." He nodded at the helmets most of them were carrying, "I see you understand now."

"A little," Jason said. He shrugged, "Still sounds a bit crazy to me."

"Yeah, this is coming from the guy who once fought a rapping pumpkin monster."

Jason considered that and nodded, "True."

"What did they do now," Dr. K asked the curly headed Green Ranger standing beside her. "This is the second time in three days that they've tried something like this."

"I don't know what they were planning. They just jumped through the ruffle and started running toward the Command Center. A couple of Rangers went out to stop them when that one," he pointed a green skull faced guy with glowing red eyes, "started shooting lasers from his eyes! I mean come on!" He turned to Dr. K, "I thought everyone lost their powers, including the villains?"

"Not necessarily," Dr. K admitted. The nearby Rangers looked at her in shock. She blushed slightly, "Like I hypothesized, something important was stolen from us when we were transformed into action figures. And thusly we are not really us and cannot access our abilities beyond the merely physical ones. If someone, like Gruumm there for example, were to find the missing thing, they would be at, if not full power, then at least have basic access to his or her powers."

"Wonderful so the villains could regain their evil powers," Adam asked with a frown.

Dr. K nodded, "But so could you Mighty Morphing Black Ranger."

"Hey," Zack protested, "_I'm_ the Black Mighty Morphin Ranger!"

Dr. K stared at him, "You both are. What else am I supposed to call you?"

"How about our names?"

Ranger Series Green chuckled, "She's known my name for awhile now and she still won't use it! You've got no chance. Although she does seem to use Kira, Summer, Gem, Gemma, Justin, Taylor, Jack and Casey's names…" He shrugged then offered his hand to Zack, "Name's Ziggy by the way."

"Zack," Zack said back. He was getting a very like kindred spirit vibe from this kid. "So you're from a completely different team?"

"Yeah," Ziggy said putting his thumbs under the silver suspenders on his uniform and popping them, "Power Rangers RPM."

"And how far down the timeline are you?"

"Heh," Ziggy said nervously, "I really don't think you want to know when I'm from. It's a _really_ depressing time."

Zack shrugged, "If you say so man."

Ziggy, wanting to impress his Rangerial ancestor, leaned over to him and whispered, "You up for a challenge? I know where all the cute Rangers hang out…"

Zack grinned, "I knew I was going to get along with you!"

"Follow me, dear compatriot," Ziggy said, slapping Zack on the back, "you _have_ to meet Tori."

Zack turned back to his friends, "Hey, we're not doing anything important right now, right?"

"I don't think so," Jason said without conviction. "But don't wander too far."

"Where am I going to go," Zack asked with a laugh, "I'm made of plastic!"

After Zack walked off, Kimberly hooked her arm with Tommy's, "I wanna meet the other you's."

Tommy grimaced, "I don't know Kim. It'll be weird, meeting myself. Four of myself's."

"Come on Tommy, where's that fearless Green Ranger that once kicked us out of our own Zord," Kim said teasingly. "I'm sure they can't wait to meet you too."

"Yeah, they can't wait to meet the part of them that was once evil."

"You can forgive yourself you know," Kimberly said, cocking an eyebrow at his sullen tone. "We all have."

"Yeah, I know." He just didn't think he ever could.

Kimberly tugged on his arm, "All right scaredy dragon, if I have to force you, I will."

Tommy cracked a small smile, "Fine, but you'll owe me one."

"I think I can deal with that," Kimberly said with a grin.

* * *

Trini watched Tommy and Kimberly walk off with a small smile.

"Excuse me," a voice behind her asked, "but, um, are you Trini Kwan?"

She turned and saw a very cute, tall man with brown hair wearing a mostly green and black Ranger suit standing behind her. "Yes." She wasn't quite sure why he had approached her but today was strange enough that she was rolling with it instinctively by now. It was certainly ranking high on her weird day list. Just behind the day her cousin was turned into a cardboard cutout by a clown monster.

He smiled winningly, "Hi, my name's Bridge Carson, Green Space Patrol Delta Ranger. SPD for short. That my Ranger team, SPD, not my name. My name is Bridge. Bridge Carson." He held out his hand which she shook still trying to figure out what he wanted. His smile widened, "This…this is really an honor ma'am. You're a legend!"

Trini blinked, "I am?"

"Oh yes Miss Kwan, your books on the relationships between members of a team are absolutely fascinating and your theories on the psychology of villains is included in the SPD training manual! I've even read up on some of your top secret work on the viability of using younger people as guardians. That work is partially responsible for me being a Power Ranger and not some forty year old grandpa."

"Is it," she asked, confused. "Um…I'm afraid you must be confusing me with someone else. I've never written a book."

Bridge blinked then his smiled grew lopsided, ashamed of his memory's slip, "I keep forgetting. You haven't written them _yet_."

Trini stared. What?

They stood in increasingly awkward silence until Bridge apologized, "I'm sorry. I don't think very well when I'm standing right side up. The ideas don't flow as well."

"…sure," Trini said. She _still_ didn't know what he wanted. So, being a direct person, she asked him, "I'm sorry but what do you want?"

"Why to meet you Miss Kwan," Bridge said, surprised. He had thought it was obvious. When he noticed that she really didn't think it was, he sputtered, "I…I was wondering if I could show you around Miss Kwan? There's a lot of fascinating stuff going on around here."

Trini hesistated, but the guy was smiling so convincingly that she smiled too, "Sure, but call me Trini. Ever call me Miss Kwan again and I'll punch you."

Bridge laughed, "I'll be sure and remember that. Would you like to see the armory first?"

Trini's eyes lit up, "_Yes_!"

They walked off, Bridge excitedly telling her about their methods of research to discover who turned them all into action figures.

Jason and Billy glanced at each other. "I guess it's just you and me," Billy said with a shrug.

Jason cleared his throat, embarrassed, "Actually, I was hoping I could go meet my older self."

"Oh. Ok."

Jason felt for the guy, "Listen, I can hang around if you want."

"No," Billy said, waving a hand, "It's ok. Really."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, go. To know oneself is to reach enlightenment."

Jason blinked then grinned, "If you say so." He punched Billy's shoulder gently, a custom Billy had never really understood and accepted as something he never would, and walked off with a wave.

Billy looked around, all his other friends had disappeared, leaving him alone with nothing to do. Dr. K was adamantly talking to someone he didn't recognize and Adam had been pulled away by some other Ranger to drag the gilled villain and the green one who had regained his powers away. Presumably somewhere where they couldn't cause more problems. He felt lost and more than a little overwhelmed. It took some getting used to the idea of being made of plastic. He flexed his arm, he didn't feel so stiff anymore. He almost accidently hit another Ranger walking by when his arm flopped back out. He apologized and watched the strange man, the guy was definitely not a Power Ranger wearing what seemed to be a navy issue hat, walk away. There were other Rangers. And not just a few, somewhere nearing one hundred. And not only that but some of them seemed as intelligent as he was. Maybe he wouldn't have to rework his speech pattern after all.

"Billy," Jen said, walking up to him. "I was wondering if you could help me with something."

Grateful for something to do, he smiled in relief, "What?"

"You are easily one of the smartest Rangers' I've ever read about." Billy blushed. "And I would like you to work with a few other Rangers who are experts in the fields of magic and technology to see if you can work out what the Enemy used to make this happen."

Feeling bolstered by the Pink Rangers confidence in him, he nodded, "I'll do everything I can."

"That's exactly what I was hoping to hear."

* * *

"I understand that Galaxy Ranger Yellow," Dr. K said, exasperated, "But at this time we are more concerned with seeing if it is possible to reestablish the links to the Morphing Grid with the original Power Rangers, the first links in the Power Chain." She looked up, "Mighty Morphin Red…" She saw that none of the original Rangers were still standing there. Nor where they anywhere in sight. "Hey! Where did they go?"

* * *

*AN*

Yeah, we're going to play around a bit before shifting the plot into turbo. Character interactions are the bread that I love to eat. At least until the plotceraptors attack. And _then_ the plot shall advance! And then there shall be a battle! And it might not be exactly in that order!

Also expect bad Power Ranger puns. Just a bit of a (late) warning.

Extra Strength Meta Note #4:

Ok, so here's the way I'm splitting up who has which memories and powers. If someone has changed teams and powers, even if they didn't change colors, they get a new person. The first Ranger with the first powers has memories up to right before they lose them or leave the show.

For example the original Green Ranger will remember everything up until the episode before Green No More while the White Ranger will everything after that and up to right before A Zeo Beginning where the Red Zeo's memories start. The original Pink Ranger will remember everything up until right before A Different Shade of Pink where she transfers her powers and leaves. And so on and so forth.

The movies, I'm ignoring because it makes such things too complicated.

As for the original teams Ninja Ranger Powers I'm considering those a extension of Mighty Morphin powers because they interchange between the two so easily. We may be seeing some complications with this later ;-). But then we may not:-/.

Every other Ranger who didn't leave remembers everything up until just before their season finale excluding any stinger leading to the finale. So if something really big happened just before the season finale that effected the show as set up for the finale, it didn't happen. And so none of the team ups have happened for them yet but the Rangers who they teamed up with remember them. Savvy?

To make it even more confusing, those who became different colored Rangers, like Bridge, off screen are only getting the one character. Again this is to keep their relative time streams simple because things are about to get reeeallyy complicated and it's hard enough for me to keep track of it all right now.

One more thing. If I mention something that didn't happen in the show, like characters that recognize each other even though they never met on screen, just roll with it. I like to assume that the Rangers kept contact with each other when they weren't saving the world from evil.


	7. Chapter 7: Two of a Kind

Chapter 7 – Two of a Kind

"Mom! Where did you put my toys?"

"Nowhere honey, I didn't go in your room."

"Are you sure? They aren't where I left them!"

"Maybe the dog knocked them off. I'm sure they're there. There's so much junk in your room that I'm surprised you can find anything."

"Mom!"

Arthur shuffled a few things around on his desk and overturned his waste basket but still came up empty handed.

"You can look for them later Arthur, grab your soccer bag and let's go! Move it, move it!"

Arthur growled, scanning his room one last time, still not seeing anything remotely resembling a Power Ranger.

"Arthur!"

"I'm coming!" He grabbed a duffle bag out of his closet and sprinted through the door.

* * *

Rita and Zedd watched the villains being scolded by one of the unfamiliar Rangers. The Ranger reached out and grabbed something off one of the head of the guy with the green skull. "Don't you ever learn," the Ranger was shouting, "You will never win! Especially with all of us around! So stop or we'll put you back in the cups. We have more important things to worry about than washed up villains who don't know when to quit." The Ranger stormed off and the other Rangers who had been guarding them gave the penned evil doers a annoyed look and walked away as well.

Rita smiled, "More like minded people Ed. Should we go make their acquaintance?"

"I don't know," Lord Zedd said, "they don't seem to be the most threatening villains. They might drag us down."

"I know," Rita said with a low, evil, laugh, "That's what I was hoping. We can rebuild our army my evil husband. After we find Goldar, he can tell us who is who and who is worth recruiting." She lowered her voice even more, "All the Rangers that will ever be gathered in one place…what better time to wipe them all out, once and for all."

"Oh you are evil my dear," Zedd said with relish, "That is a magnificent plan." He rubbed his hand together gleefully, "And then I can repay some kindness shown to me by one of these new Rangers. He will suffer greatly."

They followed the group of villains to the deepest, darkest section under the bed. The place where monsters hide and every child is afraid to check. They felt right at home.

* * *

"Jason, man!" Jason stopped, looking around for whoever had called his name. A pair of tall, black men ran up to him. Both of them grinning from ear to ear. One, in a suit red enough to match his own, slapped him on the back, "Jason! I'm so glad you finally showed up!"

Jason looked between the two, the only real difference he could see was their uniforms. They must be like him and Tommy, Rangers who had been on different teams. "I'm sorry," Jason said, getting slightly tired of everyone expecting him to know them, "I don't know who you are."

The other man, in Blue of all colors, laughed, "Right!" He held out his hand, "I'm T.J., Blue In Space Ranger."

"And I," the Red one said, knocking T.J.'s hand out of the way, "Am T.J., the _second_ Red Turbo Ranger."

Jason shook his hand then shook the other ones hand feeling a little dizzy. The men had exactly the same movement and faces. It was like being between two mirrors. "Jason, Mighty Morphin Red Ranger."

"We know who you are man," Red T.J. said. "You and I are good friends."

"We are?"

"Oh yeah," Blue T.J. said, "But _I'm_ more of your friend than he is."

"That's not true," Red T.J. said defensively, "He was actually on my team. You never met him!"

Blue T.J. smiled smugly, "That you know of."

"Uh," Jason said to interrupt the very disconcerting argument, "Do you know where I am? I mean the me that's the Gold Zeo Ranger."

"Sure, I'll take you there," Red T.J. said, putting his arm around Jason's shoulder. "Let me tell you about the time I was baked into a giant pizza."

* * *

Walking down the road and after having a good laugh at the ludicrousness of a pizza baking monster, the two T.J.'s had another revelation for him.

Jason laughed in disbelief, "Are you serious?"

Blue T.J. laughed too, "Oh yeah, Bulk and Skull are here too!"

"Why in the world are those two here?"

Red T.J. shrugged, annoyed that Blue T.J. was hogging Jason, "We honestly don't know. Probably because they hung out around more Power Ranger teams than anyone in history."

"No way!" Jason tried to seriously think about this. Those two bullies around other Ranger teams, most likely just as oblivious to their Rangerness as they had been to his? Fate had a funny sense of humor.

Blue T.J nodded, "Bulk even ends up on Terra Venture and heads out into the galaxy at large! But you should have seen their faces when they realized they had once bullied the original Power Rangers. Classic."

Jason grinned, "I might have to go visit them later…in full uniform."

Red and Blue T.J. laughed perfectly identical laughs.

"We're here," Blue T.J. said with a flourish, motioning at the small shoe box, "the residence of _one_ Jason Lee Scott."

"Don't worry Jase," Red T.J. said with another laugh, "you won't have to live here too. We learned really quickly that, for the most part, putting the two same people in the same building was a good way to have that building destroyed. We already have a place for you and your team to stay all fixed up and ready." He knocked on the cardboard box, "These aren't exactly the strongest buildings anyway so it's not best to tempt fate more than we normally do."

"Hey Jason," Blue T.J. called out in a sing-song voice, "We have a surprise for you!"

"I'm coming," a voice yelled from inside, "It'd better not be another rookie wanting an autograph from the original Red Power Ranger. I'm so tired of having to do that." A very familiar head poked out of the small door way.

Jason stared at Jason who smiled, noticing how surreal it was to meet oneself, to talk to oneself, to look at yourself in the same eyes and have the same eyes look back at you, "So, I guess I'll be taking over that job from now on. Hi Jason, I'm Jason, _the_ original Red Power Ranger."

After a few seconds Gold Jason shook his head, "Late as usual Jason." He sighed, "It's all you can really expect from someone as young as you. Rude really."

The two Jason's stared stonily at each other before Gold Jason broke out into a smile and threw his arms around his younger self, "Welcome Jason!"

Red Jason laughed and ducked out of the way, "Thank you Jason!" He turned to see the two T.J.'s walking off, "Hey, why don't you two stay. You can help fill in the gaps!"

"Yeah," Gold Jason said, "stay T.J one and two. I think we'll need a someone to distract us from the awesomeness that will cover any room the two of us are in."

"What do you think T.J.," Red T.J. asked Blue T.J.

"I think we can out awesome them," Blue T.J. replied confidently.

Red T.J. grinned, "Exactly what I was thinking."

Gold Jason led them in and they sat on the floor, "Sorry about the lack of furniture, I just moved in." The furniture may be lacking but it was easy to tell where all his time had been spent. The walls were gold. Not a dark yellow, but a bright and sparkling gold. A pair of small wattage bulbs stood in stands on the floor, taking up most of the room and casting their shadows on the ceiling and walls instead of on the floor. "So…me…where have you been?"

Red Jason shrugged, "As far as I know, nowhere. I blinked and suddenly I was laying on top of Rita."

"Now _that_ would be a terrifying sight to wake up to."

* * *

"So your memories of my time are fuzzy?"

"Yeah," Gold Jason replied, "I can remember being you but I can't picture it. It's like ending up with a book when you're expecting a movie, the words are there but not the pictures."

"Weird."

"Tell me about it."

"Do you have any idea who could do something like this?"

"None at all. No one I ever fought had this kind of power. I mean sure, some monsters could turn us into various things."

"Or bake you into a pizza," Red. T.J. interjected.

"We get it," Blue T.J. said with a heavy sigh, "You were baked in a pizza, drop it."

Gold Jason laughed, then continued what he was saying, "But none of them had the power to take every Ranger form their time. Did you know some of the team remember meeting us even though we haven't met them?"

Red Jason shook his head.

"One theory is that whoever took us, took us out from different times. They didn't just wait for one time, say thirty years down the line and take all the Rangers from it. They took you right before you transferred you powers to Rocky and apparently me before I give mine back to Trey. This seems deliberate."

"And there's no version of us without powers, like after you give your powers back," Red Jason asked.

"No, only the times when we were Rangers seems affected. The last thing I can remember is Billy saying that he was staying on Aquitar." Gold Jason leaned closer to Red Jason, "He'd fallen in love with an Aquitian!"

"No," Red Jason laughed, disbelieving. "After all those girlfriends, he falls in love with an alien? I always knew he was on to bigger and better things."

Gold Jason smiled then he sighed, "Not ten minutes after cutting contact with Aquitar, I wake up here. Just me. The other Zeo Rangers had been here for three weeks before I showed up." He shook his head, "I don't know Jason, I'm beginning to think that we'll never fix this."

"Don't say that," Red Jason said vehemently. He stood, staring down at his future self, "We don't ever give up!"

"But it's been so long!"

Red Jason sniffed, "And? We've been in worse situations, so close to death that I could read his tattoo. This," he waved at the pencil end chairs they were sitting on and the cardboard walls, "this is paradise compared to that!"

"Now that's what I like to see," Red T.J. said with a grin, "The Leader Red Ranger, confident and strong!" He knocked Red Jason in the back, almost knocking him down, "We've missed having you man!"

"Hey," Gold Jason said, annoyed. "What am I, chopped liver?"

"No," Blue T.J. said, "What my younger, pudgier, self was saying was that, you're a bit more…contemplative than your younger, more impulsive, Red, self."

"So?"

He shrugged, "I think it's a Red thing. You know how big their ego's are. The leaders of the team sure think a lot of themselves."

The two Red's grin's disappeared, "Hey!"

A smile tugged at Blue T.J.'s face, "You know that chick, Jen?"

Red Jason's nodded, "She's the one who explained it all to us."

"She's was the leader of the Time Force Rangers after their Red Ranger was almost killed."

Jason's jaw dropped, "What? Isn't she the Pink Ranger?"

"Yup."

"But..but…"

"She's wearing Pink so you're thinking she's probably like Kimberly?"

"Not to be insulting, but, yeah!"

"But she's the leader," Gold Jason said, not even hiding his amusement, "and she's a Pink. It's a real blow to your sense of entitlement huh?"

Red Jason grumbled, "Ha ha ha."

* * *

"Well, I think that's enough for tonight," Blue T.J. said, standing. They had been talking for a while now. The light outside the cutout window had grown brighter, which apparently meant that it was getting dark outside. "Arthur will be back soon and I'm on duty to play with him."

"Who," Red Jason asked.

"The little boy whose room we're in. We're sure he would notice if all of his toys disappeared at the same time. And we definitely don't want him looking for us under his bed."

"What does he do? Playing, I mean." Red Jason remembered some of the trauma he'd put his toys through when he'd played with them. Only a few of them had made it in one piece by the time it came he out grew them.

Blue T.J. shrugged, "It's not that bad. Mostly he makes us fight one of the villains. So, nothing we don't normally do. Although Theo once got his arm ripped off."

Jason stared, "What?"

"Oh don't worry, it reattached. We are plastic after all…"

Jason shook his head, "Well, have fun I guess."

He grinned, "Oh I will. Divatox is on villain duty with me."

"Ah, no fair," Red T.J. said, "That's my enemy! How come you get to knock her face in?"

"Just lucky I guess….besides, I've been wanting to do it for awhile. I'd better hurry though. If we're not sitting on his bed when he gets back, he'll start looking for us."

Something lit up in Red Jason's mind, remembering a very, at the time, confusing poster above the bed, "There are Dino Thunder Rangers, right?"

"What, Tommy's team? Yeah."

"Why is there a poster of them on the kids room?"

"Ah, yes," Gold Jason said, grimacing. "Conner, their Red Ranger, never lets us forget whose face is plastered on that wall. Well, I guess you'd learn this sooner or later but it's kind of creepy to think about." He exchanged nervous glances with both T.J.'s. "Well, we know one more thing about where we are…we are definitely not in our own universe."

"You mean like an alternate dimension," Red Jason asked. He was now glad of Billy's techno-talk.

"Yeah, something like that. But see, in this universe, there are no Power Rangers."

Jason thought this strange but their own had existed for thousands of years without the Rangers so he wasn't really surprised this one didn't have them yet. He nodded, "Ok."

"Instead the only ones they know of are on TV."

"So they _do_ have their own versions?"

"Well, no. You see, in this universe, their TV shows are about _us_."

"I don't understand."

Gold Jason ran a hand nervously through his hair. He shook his head then grimaced, "Somehow, the people who write and direct the series known as Power Rangers, exactly copy what happens to us in ours. Right down to the smallest detail."

"…I still don't get it."

Red T.J. sighed, "We're a TV show here kid. And there are actors that play us on them who look _exactly_ like us. They fight the same evil, their Zords are destroyed when ours were. The plots of their show perfectly match our what happens in our universe. They even have us in school! It's creepy how much they know about us!"

Jason rubbed a hand down his face, suddenly very tired, "Is this day over yet? I don't know how much more of this I can take."

Gold Jason smiled understandingly, "Don't worry kid, it gets easier once you accept that your life will never be normal again."

"Well," Red Jason said, blinking, trying to wrap his mind around this new development, "that's good to know I guess. But hardly comforting."

"I didn't mean to be comforting little me, I meant to be truthful. I don't think it's going to get any easier around here and you need to know that and accept it."

Red Jason winced at the sudden change in atmosphere. It had gone from jolly and relaxed to tense and worried. These Rangers, all older and more experienced than him, really didn't believe that they were going to get out of this situation. They had been here for months, he could understand why they were beginning to lose hope. But still…they were Power Rangers and they were never supposed to give up.

He sat in silence while the other Rangers said their goodbyes and when the T.J.'s left he excused himself as well. His Gold self understood that he was tired, he said a few encouraging words, pointed out the direction where Jason would be staying, muttering that he wouldn't miss it and shut the door.

Jason walked away determined to find his team. All he wanted to do right now was hang out with them. He was so stressed and tired. Being around those he could count on, maybe laughing at a few of Zacks lame jokes, watching Tommy and Kimberly make doe eyes at each other, listen with growing confusion to Trini and Billy discuss things far over his head. Such simple moments was what he needed right now. Just time to relax and not think about his hopeless older self or his new synthetic identity.

"Red Ranger!" A bright golden figure dropped down from the sky and landed in front of him. "You're finally here. I can, at last, have my revenge!"

Jason groaned, "Look Goldar, I'm really tired right now. I'm sure you've been very impatient waiting to face me again but you're just going to have to wait a bit longer. I am in no mood to play." Jason started to walk around the large blue monkey with wings.

"No Red Ranger," Goldar said, stepping right in Jason's path, "You will face me now!"

He looked at Goldar, "Why haven't you exercised this impulse to fight with the other me? He's been here for months!"

"It is not him," Goldar snarled, "that I have a quarrel with."

"He kicked your butt didn't he," Jason asked with a smirk.

Goldar pursed his lips, "He did not."

But Jason could tell by Goldar's tone what had really happened, "He totally did! You couldn't defeat the older me so you thought you would try the younger version instead!"

Goldar raised his sword with a growl, "It doesn't matter! Now fight me Red Ranger!"

Jason's first instinct was to just walk away. He'd had a hard, trying, day and all he really wanted to do was relax with his friends. But Goldar was offering a completely different way of relaxing. A more violent relaxation. "All right," Jason said with a grin, "Bring it monkey brains!"

*AN*

Gotta love those old rivalries.

So…every last Power Ranger is small and plastic…and in our universe. Bwa-ha-ha this is fun!

Review if you would like to make my day!

* * *

*Character List*

Rita – Mighty Morphin villain

Lord Zedd – Mighty Morphin villain

Jason – Red Mighty Morphin

Red T.J. – second Red Turbo Ranger

Blue T.J. – Blue In Space Ranger

Gold Jason – second Gold Zeo Ranger

Goldar – villain Mighty Morphin


	8. Chapter 8: Brown

Chapter 8 – Brown

Bridge led the way, walking a little ways in front of her, Rangers of all shapes and sizes passing by. Trini even thought she saw some kind of animals walking around. He hadn't really said much but that didn't seem to bother him as much as it bothered her. He was still smiling. She liked his smile.

"So, how long have you been here," Trini asked Bridge. She wasn't really sure who this character was. He'd just walked up to her out of the blue. But his manner seemed easy going and he had offered to show her around. Any information she could gather would help her and her friends make the right decisions if it came to that. Finding out there were other Rangers was comforting. But it was also upsetting. The battle would never be finished. Her team's fight against Rita and Zedd wouldn't be the last one. Others would have to continue battling against evil. People like the practically skipping man beside her.

"The other SPD Rangers and I arrived about three months ago. Our mentors, Doogie, the Shadow Ranger, and Kat, who had very temporally been a Ranger, appeared with us. Gruumm and Mora about a week later. Actually we were quite lucky, some Rangers appeared long after their villains have set up shop here."

They walked in silence for a few seconds. Each thinking about the hard battles they'd fought against their enemies. Trini feeling more melancholy from the memories.

Bridge grimaced, he'd wanted to talk with Trini, not think about Gruumm. "Well…uh…Tini…I understand you're from the 20st century."

"I am. And you're from the future?"

"The year 2025 actually."

"Oh," Trini said brightening, "That's not too far in the future!" She had been afraid that he was hundreds of years ahead of her and any help she might offer would be outdated.

He leaned in close, hand clenching his jaw, eyes sparkling in interest, "What was it like back then? I mean, your identities were secret, right? And you had to go to high school at the same time? Are you sure there weren't two of you running around back then, because I'm sure nobody save the day while doing homework."

"I'm sure," Tini said with a small laugh, "There's only one of me." Personally she would have loved to have a twin, someone else who could do homework while she took down some monsters.

"Wow…just wow. You really are amazing, you know."

Trini looked away, feeling a little embarrassed at his enthusiasm, "Thanks."

"Did your parents ever find out?"

"No. At least if they did, they never told me. I don't know how they could have missed it but then I'm still amazed we've kept the secret this long. I mean, I'm always wearing yellow and running off when the monsters show up. We're not that good at being subtle."

"Oh, I know what you mean. I stick to green like it was an obsession. But then I am a public servant and have a uniform, people know me and recognize me so I don't really have to hide anything."

"Must be nice," Trini said wistfully. She hated keeping secrets from her parents but they would only try to stop her. Nobody wanted their high school daughter fighting thirty story monsters and witches from outer space.

Realizing that this was a sore subject for the other Ranger, Bridge was very glad that they finally arrived at their destination. "Well, first off on our grand tour," he said gesturing at the actual gingerbread house standing in front of them, "is the armory." He opened the gram cracker door for her and ushered her inside, "It's were we keep all of the weapons that weren't taken away when we were transformed into little dolls."

Trini placed her hand over her Blade Blaster and knowing that she would eventually have to find her Power Daggers, "But I thought that if we lost some part of our uniform or weapons, we lost part of our personalities."

"Or memories," Bridge corrected, "But there's no one around here that would want to steal someone else's weapon and it's easier than walking around with giant swords and guns."

"What about your villains? Wouldn't they love to steal all this?"

Bridge laughed, "Oh, them. Most of them lost their determination when they lost their powers. For the most part, they just sit around and whine. Plus, they don't know this place even exists." He walked over to a specific rack that held a few odd weapons, "This is my Delta Max Striker." He held out a small, while larger than her Blade Blaster but still pretty small, gun.

Trini took it, examining it. She was fascinated by the advances in technology she could see just by looking at it. How was it powered? What material was it made out of? She noticed a small crease and attempted to pry it apart.

Bridge took it away, laughing, "I wouldn't do that."

A little annoyed, Trini asked why.

"Well the last time I did that, it exploded and melted my gloves. Bad day." He put it back on the rack and looked around, "Do you see a sword looking thing, it's not, they actually call it a staff even though it obviously isn't, a staff is a long wood looking thing but theirs is easily more sword shaped, with a yellow jewel on the end. Chip let me borrow it and I just wanted to make sure I put it back. I honestly can't remember." He spotted it and sighed, "Save again for another day!"

Trini felt the cloud that had been hovering over her lessen slightly. He was good company, if a bit off kilter. She was fine with that though. She shifted her helmet around, "Can I leave my helmet here? I'm kind of tired of lugging it around."

Bridge smiled, "Sure." He walked over to a very large cabinet, opening it. "Put it in here."

"Of course." Trini didn't have to ask where.

The cabinet seemed to contain almost every helmet of every Ranger. Each, of course, color coded and arranged by rows which represented teams. There was a spot already reserved for her helmet. A yellow, very well crafted, saber tooth tiger was painted on the back behind a yellow cushion that sitting on the top row of the shelf of the cabinet. The five other places for her teammates helmets were empty. She would have to tell them about this so they could store them as well. She reached up on her tiptoes and stretched. She was just tall enough to toss it onto the cushion. It landed askew.

Bridge reached up behind her and straightened it, "It wouldn't do for the first Yellow Ranger's helmet to be crooked. I would be insulted."

"Thanks."

"Anytime!"

They stood in a strange silence for a few seconds before Bridge's face split into a grin, "Do you want to see my robotic dog?"

* * *

"So it's name is Ric?"

"Yeah, isn't he beautiful…"

Trini had to admit, for a motionless plastic dog, it was pretty cute. "And in your time, it's alive?"

"Yeah, this one is just a toy in this world. The real Robotic Interactive Canine is back home. Oh no," Bridge gasped, "I bet he's lonely!"

"So tell me what the Rangers in your time do, I'm sure your technology is very advanced." She bet it was a change from the conditions they were in now. His house seemed very much like his personality, haphazardly built but still standing. The walls seemed to be different heights, almost as if he kept forgetting to finish them, but somehow the roof didn't fall down. The paint, while mostly green, also had copious amounts red and blue mixed in.

"Well, SPD is based in New Tech City. And, well, our job is quite fascinating. When we capture a criminal, we 'Judge' them with the Judgment Scanner option on our morphers, that look like badges, I lost mine, and if it finds them guilty, we use the Containment setting to blast them with Anti-Fusion Matter, then store them on Containment Cards until they can be transported to Headquarters."

"So, the Rangers are like police?"

"Kind of. Usually we're only called in if the criminal has genetic powers." He paused then amended that, "Or if it's one of Gruumms thugs. We get first go at them every time. Or if one of us is nearby when a normal crime is committed. Or if we just feel like getting involved. Or if the criminal is standing between me and toast."

"Well, you've got me beat on that," Trini said. "I only had to mess with monsters and evil sorceresses. I wouldn't have known what to do with a normal, non-giant sized, criminal."

"Nah, I bet you could have handled it. After all, you're…" he trailed off and blushed, "I probably shouldn't finish that."

"Why?"

"Well, we're not supposed to give away people futures. Time Force can get away with it when they want to but Doogie would just out and kill me. Will kill me. In the future. Your future, my present. Hmm…"

"But we're learning about our futures already. Both Tommy and Jason now know about their future Ranger powers."

Bridge paused, finger in the air to explain. But he couldn't come up with anything. "I…I don't know." He floundered, mouth opening and closing in confusion.

"So…," amused, Trini picked her brain for something to change the subject to. She could already tell in the little time she'd known him that it was very easy for him to get stuck on a tangent. And since she'd actually gotten him stuck on this one, she felt she had the responsibility to get him out of it. "Tell me about this Anti-Fusion Matter."

Eye's coming back into focus, Bridge started talking excitedly, "Well, it's like a small electric charge but smaller…"

* * *

After a lengthy discussion on the various physical laws such technology broke, Bride decided he should offer his guest some food, "Would you like some toast?"

"You eat," she asked, walking over and sitting at the small table, "I thought we were made of plastic?"

"Oh we are," Bridge replied a few minutes later, turning back to her, carrying a tall stack of tiny, toasted bread slices. "But we can eat if we want to. Something about our minds needing the normality." He sat the plate down, "And boy do I love normality." He shrugged, sitting down in the stool opposite her, "Most of us don't seem to want to eat, they don't want to risk changing themselves enough to eat because their afraid of staying this way, but I'm not afraid. For toast, I would risk anything."

With a shake of her head, Trini looked at the toast. Plain and dry. "Do you have any butter?" If she was going to eat it, she may as well enjoy it.

Bridge looked at her in awe, "You like buttery," he wigged his fingers, "toast?"

"Of course!"

Bridge's lower lip trembled as he grasped her hand, eyes teary, "Would you like stick or squeeze?"

* * *

"Well," Bridge said apologetically as he walked down the streets with her, a few Rangers passing by, getting ready for the coming night. Most of them waved or smiled but didn't stop to chat. It would be lights out soon and they would have to turn off their lights as well. Nobody wanted to be stuck out in the dark. "We didn't get much touring done."

"It's ok," Trini said, smiling, "It was fun."

Bridge blushed, his steps becoming more secure. "Well, there's one more place I can show you, it's where we decided to house the original Rangers if they ever showed up. Although, we never really expected to actually use it. We hoped it would always stay empty."

"Ok, so we get our own house?"

"Pretty much," Bridge said, nodding. Then he stopped nodding and shook it side to side, "Not that you _have_ to stay there…I mean…it's not like you can't go build your own home if you want to. Or live in the Command Center if you really felt the need. Of course that would probably make Dr. K mad at you. But then she's not a Ranger." He pondered that. "But I wouldn't mess with her anyways. Some of the things I've heard from Tenaya 15 make her out to be very intimidating with a musical instrument."

"A musical instrument as a weapon? Now I've heard everything," Trini laughed.

Bridge smiled, he liked to hear her laugh. "Um…," he mumbled, uncharacteristically nervous, "tomorrow, after Arthur leaves, would you like me to finish the tour? I promise to actually show you around."

"I'd like that," Trini said, not hiding her own grin, "And I don't mind. You're a smart and funny guy and I hope you don't ever change." She supposed she wasn't supposed to be this direct but she had never been one for subtly. Or very good at hinting. She was of the mind, say what you feel. She was about to say something else when she spotted the place she was to call home.

She stopped in her tracks and stared. Surely this wasn't real?

The space around the building was filled with columns, lots and lots of columns. Small models of all of the various Zords of the many Ranger teams sat atop them, spiraling inward row after row, carved snarling or about to leap as if in the depths of battle. The aroma in the air and the way the multicolored lights reflected off them, made Trini think they were made from bars of soap. But, as impressive as this display of sculpting talent was, what drew her eyes was the sitting in the dead center of these rings. A single building, simple in its design but impressive in its scope, stood six stories, a story being something slightly taller than one of them, high, built with what looked to be real wood. Multicolored, each of the original Rangers had an entire floor dedicated to their color. The bottom floor was painted deep Blue, beautiful scroll work worked into the wood, the second story a bright Pink, then deep Red, then sunny Yellow and the highest floor, an all encompassing Black. Six extremely tall glass windows ran up and down the width of the building, Trini assumed that there were six on the back side as well. There was even a small waterless fountain in the front.

"This…this is a bit much," Trini said, sounding strangled. There were houses made out of orange juice boxes and old coffee cups, and here was a real _wooden_ building and instead of a window cut out of the walls, there was real, glass, windows. For them. What work must have come into sculpting this? It was beautiful. It was overwhelming. It was terrifying.

"But do you like it," Bridge asked anxiously. "We wanted to show you the proper respect. I mean, after all, without you guys keeping Rita from taking over the worlds, we wouldn't have our worlds and times to defend! You were the first to step forward and fight the bad guys. You guys really were the first heroes that so many of us had to look up to while growing up."

"But Bridge! This…Bridge, this is a palace!"

"We built it back when we didn't think you would ever show up, we really didn't think it would ever be used." He shrugged, "Honestly, it's been a dark few months and everybody needed a morale booster. At first, it was kind of a joke. 'Hey, why don't we build the original Rangers a really big house.' 'Ha ha, sure' But as time went on and you still didn't show up, the idea took hold. This project took an entire month, working all day and night, and turned this city from a mass of moping, desperate Rangers into a group rediscovering hope. We took the foe wood from the underside of Arthur's desk and the glue from Arthur's sister's drawer. We had a bunch left over so a few houses are made of it too. This building became a symbol. We thought that if the original Rangers were still out, they were still fighting. Maybe even fighting to save us. What right did we have to give up? We really look up to you guys," he said, shyly, "and now that you're finally here…you can take us all home."

Trini was nervous now. She hadn't realized that all these Rangers would be expecting her and her teammates to solve this problem that they had been stuck on for six months. Who did these people think her and her friends were? What where they expecting from them? What would they do if they failed after they had obviously built them up so much? She felt the overwhelming pressure already. Still in shock, she said good bye to Bridge and walked towards the monstrosity of a building. As she weaved through the field of columns, she could feel the burning eyes of the Zords as she walked beneath them and she hugged her shoulders tightly. She wished her friends would come back soon, they had a lot to talk about.

* * *

*AN*

Green + Yellow = Brown. Oh yeah, I was struggling for a title for this one.

You know what they say, absence makes the heart grow fonder…and if you're gone for too long, people just might go crazy and decide to build you a mansion. Heh, wouldn't that be nice?

Are there underground tensions in Rangerland? Are our friends getting into something they can't get out of? Will Bridge ever finish the tour? Find out soon on the next episode of Not Just Action Figures!

Read, Review, have a nice day.

*Character List*

Trini – Yellow Mighty Morphin Ranger

Bridge – Green SPD Ranger


	9. Chapter 9: Kindred Spirits

Chapter 9 – Kindred Spirits

Zack struggled to force his jaw off the floor. Ziggy grinned, understanding his awe, "Welcome, my friend, to the Juice Bar, aka paradise in a couple of cups."

For being built inside three or four coffee thermoses turned on their sides and somehow stuck together, it looked like the Juice Bar he remembered. There were some short tables scattered around but most of the space was dominate by exercising equipment and mats for sparring. Most impressively, however, it was a room filled to the brim with _Power Rangers._ Some of them very hot, FEMALE, Rangers!

Zack struggled to remember Angela. He really liked Angela. He really, really, liked Angela. But it didn't hurt to look just… Did it?

One of the Rangers, wearing a pink uniform with a yellow upside down trapezoid, walked up to him, smiling warmly. "Zack!"

Ziggy elbowed him subtly, raising his eyebrows in the universal guy sign for the hottie knows your name, lucky you!

Zack smiled sheepishly, a tactic that had won him many dates from sympathetic girls, "Hi! I'm sorry but…I afraid I don't know you."

"Katherine Hillard, Kat for short," she said. "Pink Turbo Ranger. It's been awhile."

"Longer for me than you," he said in a manner that suggested that he regretted that fact.

Kat's smile widened, "You're just as charming now as you are in my time." She eyed Ziggy, her smile vanishing, "I see you're back."

Ziggy, noticing how effective Zack's strategy was, copied his sheepish grin, "I just can't stay away."

Kat shook her head with a sigh, "Well, just don't go near Ronny and you should be fine. I don't think your jokes about her Dozer Driver went over very well." She nodded at Zack, "It was nice to see you again Zack." She walked away.

When she was out of earshot Ziggy let out a breath, "That was close. Her and her doubles all kind of runs this place. They really could kick me out if she really wanted to."

"Doubles? How many of her are there?"

"Three."

"And you pissed them all off! What did you do?"

"One comment on how silly Ronny's Zord looks and she loses her head and starts screaming at me. The Kat's swoop down and _I'm_ lucky to escape with my skin." He waved his hands around, "You'd think I insulted her!"

"Well, if you insulted my Mastodon, I'd probably have smacked you into next month."

"I guess it doesn't bother me so much. I mean, my Zord is a goofy looking shark motorcycle hybrid and one of our larger Zords is a giant flying whale! It doesn't get much sillier than that."

"Sorry man," Zack said, "Not all of us can have powerful, ancient creatures as Zords." He looked around again, "Where do you get all this furniture from? I mean I've noticed that some of it is plastic too."

"Oh, Arthur has a little sister and we're 'borrowing' most of her doll houses furniture. The rest, we build. Toothpicks, straws, the occasional Lego brick. Those of us who aren't Dr. K have had very little to do beyond the occasional villain deciding to take on a hundred Power Rangers."

"They'll never learn, will they?"

"Not by my time. Oh!" Ziggy poked Zack excitedly in the shoulder, "there she is!" He pointed to a far corner where a single figure sat alone.

Zack again picked his jaw off the floor. He liked Angela. He liked Angela. Then he noted the color of the suit she was wearing, "Dude, she's a Blue? So does that mean that she's like Billy?"

"Oh yeah," Ziggy said nodding, "She's one of the smart ones."

"I don't know," Zack said, now nervous, "I'm not so good around the brainy ones. I mean Angela's no dummy but she doesn't mind that I don't have Billy's brain."

"Go for it man," Ziggy said, pushing him towards her, "You're the original Black Power Ranger, she'll have no choice but to be in awe of you!"

"Well..."

Ziggy rolled his eyes good humouredly, "All right, I'll be your wing man and keep the conversation fresh. I'm good at that, I've been Dillon's since forever. He's got no game without me."

"I don't know Ziggy…"

"And that's good enough Zacky boy! Come on!"

Ziggy led the way through the crowd. Zack couldn't help but feel in overwhelmed at the sheer range of colors. There were the normal ones like Red, Blue and Yellow but also a few off the wall ones like gold and silver, he thought he even glimpsed what could only be described as orange! An Orange Ranger…weird.

"Tori," Ziggy called as they stopped at the table. "What's up?"

The single occupant looked up from her tiny pieces of paper, "Hey Ziggy." She spotted Zack and smiled, "Who's your friend?"

* * *

"No, I'm not kidding," Zack said with a loud laugh, "she sends a monster for the sole purpose of making my birthday miserable! And this wasn't no easy peasy Putty, this thing was a full on Knight. And it was_nasty_ with a capitol n."

"How did you defeat it," Tori asked, her head was held in her hands, elbows on the table, completely enthralled in the story.

"Well, it had drained all the power from our Megazord's Power Sword but then _I_ came up with the brilliant plan of reflecting its own power at it along with some of our own. It recharged our sword and," he punched his fist into open palm, "Ol' Buckethead went down hard."

"Wow," Ziggy said wispily. He was copying Tori's position of awe exactly. He didn't seem to realize it. "That's so amazing…"

Zack shot him a strange look, "Uh…thanks…" He fiddled with his gloves for a second then chuckled, "But as hard as it was to defeat that thing, I still think that battle was easier than the one against Tommy. That guy was strong when he was evil!"

"One of your teammates was evil too," Tori asked. "Kind of like Blake and Hunter?"

"Blake and Hunter?"

"The Crimson and Navy Thunder Rangers. Lothor had them convinced that we were the enemy."

"Yeah, kind of like that I guess."

"Tori," a guy with messy black hair said, walking up to their table. He pulled a chair up and sat close to Tori, eyeing Zack suspiciously, "who's the new guy?"

Zack instantly recognized the look of a guy moving in to defend his girl. Whoever this guy in a darker shade of blue was, he didn't feel like fighting over someone he wasn't really interested in that way. Sure, she was hot, but he had already figured out that he liked Angela way more. "Zack Taylor," he said, smiling soothingly. "Black Mighty Morphin." He leaned back in his chair, showing the guy that he was relaxed and not trying to make a move. "And you would be?"

The guy had the modesty to blush, his eyes took on a more friendly twinkle, "Blake Bradley, Navy Thunder Ranger, Nina Storm."

"Cool. Nice to meet you. So you were evil like Tommy?"

"Not really evil, more like misinformed." Blake really didn't feel like discussing that time in his life with this stranger. He didn't even like talking about it with his own team.

"You know, I was misinformed one time," Ziggy said, eager to join the conversation, "I ended up on the run from the mob with a price on my head! One of my villains tried to sell me to them in return for some doodad."

"Ha," Zack said, ready for the challenge, "my villain took the pearls I was going to give to my girlfriend and turned them into a monster! Angela almost killed me! I'd rather the monster than her though."

"Trapped in a buttered popcorn," Blake said smugly. "Top that."

"Please," Zack laughed, "Rita and Zed had a Dark Dimension, been trapped in that countless times! It was cold in there!"

"Pfff," Tori jumped in, "I was sent into a dimension where all the other Rangers were evil and Lothor was good!"

Zach thought about it, not able to come up with anything more frightening than that, conceded the contest. "All right you've got me there, there's nothing scarier than that."

"Ooh, ooh, I've got one better," Ziggy called out, running over Zack's comment in thoughtless excitement, "Dillon, my _best_ friend, was turned into a robot human hybrid and could at any time turn on us and kill us all!"

After a few seconds of shocked silence, Tori winced in sympathy then leaned over the table and patted Ziggy consolingly on the hand, "I'm so sorry. I didn't know."

Ziggy shrugged, still smiling, "It's not that bad really. His eyes usually do this glowey thing before he goes all Terminator on us so we have a little warning."

"He never mentioned it," Blake said. "We hang out a lot but he's never said anything about that."

Ziggy ran a hand through his hair, "Um…actually, don't mention that I said anything. I don't think he wanted me to say anything. Please don't tell him that I said anything."

"Don't worry," Tori said with a soft laugh, "It seems a bunch of us were evil at some point. It's not unusual but we won't say anything if he doesn't want us to."

"Thanks. Whoo, I was about to be in big trouble there!"

"Why? What did you do now Ziggy," a tall man asked, walking up, arms crossed. A cocky smile was plastered on his face and he had the air of supreme confidence, "Well, Shark Brother?"

"He…hey Merrick," Ziggy stuttered, "I…I was just telling my new friend about…um…"

Zack leaped in for the save, "your Zord, what was it called again?"

Ziggy smiled gratefully, "The Tail Spinner."

"Right." Zack looked up at the man, a friendly smile on his face, "I'm Zack Taylor, Black Mighty Morphin." He could feel the other guy sizing him up but he stayed relaxed while being prepared to defend himself. He instantly knew this guy was strong. Stronger than him. In fact this guy wouldn't break a sweat if they fought hand to hand.

Merrick stared down at him, cocky grin still on his face. After a few seconds of appraisal, his grin turned into a full blown smile, "Zack Taylor, I am Merrick Baliton, Lunar Wolf Wild Force Ranger. I can see that you are connected to ancient spirit of the Mastadon. You are strong and indomitable, you are loyal and protective of those you care about. But you are also far too laid back and sure of your own strength. While you do well against a single foe, too many overwhelm you. This is a very exploitable weakness." He looked around the table who were all stunned at this frank assessment, "Would anybody like a game of pool?"

* * *

Tori and Blake cheered as Merrick sunk the eight ball into the middle left pocket. Merrick twirled the toothpick pool stick, "That's two to one."

Ziggy apologized to Zack, "Sorry man, he's really good."

"Don't worry about it," Zack replied, "At least we got him once." He leaned closer and whispered, "Besides, I let him win that last one."

Ziggy grinned.

Blake picked up another pool stick, "Can I get in on the next one?"

"Sure, but you have to be on Ziggy's team," Merrick said.

Blake glanced at Ziggy, who was trying to twirl the stick between his fingers. He kept dropping it, "Is there _any_ other way?"

"Nope."

* * *

After another game, this time the miraculous, narrow victory going to Blake, Ziggy and their three ball handicap, Tori entered the fray. And five games later, she soundly defeated all four male Rangers. Merrick twice. She basked in their shame, "Sorry gentlemen. I used to hang out at the nearby pool house after I finished surfing. I'm good."

Merrick scowled, "Yeah, yeah." He couldn't believe he'd just been beaten. By a girl!

Laughing, Blake took the blows to his ego far better than his fellows. He congratulated Tori and was rewarded with a beaming, heartfelt smile.

Ziggy, feeling that his already lacking masculinity was being challenged, about to ask for a rematch, stopped, mouth wide. He stared into space.

Zack shook him, "Ziggy?"

Ziggy, eyes wide, jumped. "Something's wrong."

"What," the other Rangers said, straining their senses, instantly ready for combat.

Then they all felt it. The rush of Power.

"They did it," Zack laughed. His Power Axe appeared on the pool table next to him. He grabbed it and hefted it up. "We're back in action!"

Then they heard the roar. The walls shook with the intensity of the sound.

"What was that," Tori asked, nervously fingering the trigger on her Sonic Fin.

"It sounded like it came from the Command Center!"

"Dr. K!" Ziggy vanished from where he had been standing.

Zack stared at the empty spot for a second then rushed out the door, "Come on!"

Running through the nearly empty streets, they passed only a few Rangers, most of whom were sleepily trying to decide if they were dreaming or not. Then Zack heard a very familiar yell. Passing a alleyway, he glimpsed red and gold flashing in and out of sight. "Jason," he yelled, "we've got a _real_ monster to fight! Leave the small-fry!"

Goldar snarled, "I am not a small fry!"

Jason shook his head, "We'll finish this later, Goldar."

Goldar picked Jason up and threw him into the air, "I will not be ignored! I am not a small fry! I am terrifying and terrible! I will have my revenge!"

Jason twisted in the air, coming down and kicking Goldar in the head, knocking him back. He frowned then glanced at Zack, "He's right, he has the right to fight me face to face." As Goldar regained his feet, he nodded at him, "I'll finish this and come as soon as I can."

Zack hesitated between staying and helping Jason but they heard another screech and Jason waved that he should go on, "Go. I'll be right there."

"All right," Zack said, "But I'm leaving someone to make sure you don't end up eating the dirt."

Jason laughed as Golder flung himself at him, "Good to know. Now go!"

* * *

*AN*

Yes, the Terminator franchise exists in the Power Rangers universe. Because.

We're getting closer to our first major fight, could you tell? But first!….just a tad more drabble.

Read, Review, have a nice day!

*CL*

Zack – Black Mighty Morphin Ranger

Ziggy – Green RPM Ranger

Turbo Kat – Pink Turbo Ranger

Tori – Blue Ninja Ranger

Blake – Navy Ninja Ranger

Merrick – Lunar Wild Force Ranger


	10. Chapter 10: Shades of A Whole

Chapter 10 – Shades of a Whole

"Tommy, you are many things but subtle, you are not," Kimberly taunted as they arrived at the indicated board game box house. Bright multi colored stripes had been painted vertically on the outside of the box. Green, White, Red, a slightly darker shade of Red and Black adorned the home of the Tommy Brigade, as the building was referred to by the Ranger who had given them directions.

"Thanks," Tommy said, trying to keep the shake out of his voice. He was very nervous about this. These parts of himself were so much older than he was. They were all heroes where he was still trying to make up for what he did while evil. They were probably ashamed of him and what he did. They would most likely refuse to talk to him altogether. He wouldn't blame them.

"Come on," Kimberly said, pulling on his arm for about the hundredth time. "You'll age into them if we wait out here much longer."

"All right," he said reluctantly. "Let's get this over with." Squaring his shoulders, he marched up to the door and knocked on the cardboard cutout door.

"Who is it," a gruff voice called from inside.

"You," was all Tommy said.

There was a crash inside and the door was jerked open. An almost exactly perfect clone of her own Tommy stared at him. There was a tightness around his eyes that her Tommy didn't have, a few extra creases on his forehead. But those Red clothes he wore couldn't hide the familiar way he held himself and the confidence in the set of his shoulders. The way he leaned against the door as if lounging. His oh so familiar face split into a grin, "Yes it is." He noticed Kimberly and his face blanked, "Kim."

Suddenly feeling unsure, Kimberly smiled, "Hey Tommy. You're looking good."

This new Tommy was silent for a second then a strained smile forced his cheeks apart, "You too." He looked away and opened the door wider, "Come on in."

* * *

"Again, Tommy, your subtlety knows no bounds." The interior matched the exterior. Green, White, two shades of Red and Black dominated the colors from the painted eraser chairs to the blankets of cut up towels.

"I don't know," Green Tommy said, warming to the atmosphere. "I kind of like it."

"And you should," Red Tommy said, "You helped decorate it. Kinda."

"So which me are you," Green Tommy asked. This Tommy didn't look too far down the way from him. His face had aged only a few years and he wasn't too much taller than he was.

"I am the third future you. Tommy Oliver, Red Zeo Power Ranger," Red Tommy said, pointing at his red suit, white and gold circling his neck and gloves. "And, not counting the Alien Rangers, I'm the third Red Ranger period."

"Wait, _Alien_ Rangers?"

"Oh yeah," Red Tommy grinned, "You get turned into a kid and aliens send you through time to find some powerful crystals!"

Green Tommy stared at him blankly, "Uh huh." He blinked a few times then shook his head, "I guess I've heard stranger things in my life."

"Like, wear this spandex and you'll get super powers," Kimberly asked innocently.

Green Tommy laughed, "Yeah, like that!"

Even Red Tommy smiled. Then his face turned right back into a frown, the way it had every other time he'd looked at her.

Green Tommy noticed, his eyes narrowed but before he could confront him, a feminine voice called out from the door, "Tommy!"

Red Tommy winced, "Hey Kat."

A blonde haired woman wearing pink and gold walked in the room. She spotted Kimberly first. She squealed, "Kim!"

Kimberly jumped up and hugged her friend, "Kat!" They pulled apart, both smiling.

"I'd heard the rumors that you guys had shown up in town and I figured that this was the place to come looking. It's just been _ages_ since we hung out," Kat said. "We have to hang out sometime."

"Oh definitely!" Kimberly noticed her suit, "Wait, you're a Power Ranger?"

Kat grinned and gestured at the gold around the neck of her suit, "Well _I'm_ the Pink Zeo Ranger but the other two me's are wandering around here somewhere."

"So, you're like Tommy?" Kat looked confused so Kimberly clarified, "There are more than one of you."

"Yeah. There's even one who happens to wear a very familiar uniform."

"There's another Pink Mighty Morphin?" Kimberly was slightly miffed at that idea.

"Yeah, I take up for you when you go off for the Pan Globals."

Kim laughed delightedly, "I had just decided to go!"

"Well, now you don't have to worry about who to pick."

"Oh, it was never a worry. I'd always kind of felt connection with you." Kim grinned and Kat grinned back.

"Looks like I'm just in time for the party," another voice said. Green Tommy saw a slightly older version of his own face standing in the doorway, also wearing Red. "Oh well, wouldn't be the first time I was late for something."

Green Tommy stood, "You know I think that joke's a bit over used, don't you."

The two Reds shook their heads in unison, "No."

"Don't worry about it kid," another Tommy said, walking in. "They're just not as fun as we are. They lose their sense of humor with age." This Tommy smiled widely, "Tommy Oliver, White Power Ranger. I'm the you you get to be next." He crossed the room and leaned down, embracing Kim warmly, "Kim! God I've missed you."

Green Tommy valiantly controlled his jealously for an entire ten seconds the 'accidently' pushed White Tommy away.

White Tommy smiled widely, challengingly.

Green Tommy scowled then took Kim's hand, squeezing it.

Kimberly looked between the two, bemused. Tommy had always been the jealous type but two Tommy's would just cause trouble. Although, she now had to wonder who she was technically dating. She could now remember Tommy losing his Green Ranger powers and becoming the White Ranger but both of them were here. She came to the conclusion that since they were basically the same person, she was dating them both. But they would both be jealous of the other. Well, this was a conundrum. She pointedly ignored them, focusing instead on the new Tommy in Red, she went over the list of Tommy's Dr. K had talked about. "You're the Red Turbo Ranger?"

Turbo Tommy nodded, "Yeah. Fourth Tommy along the line."

Green Tommy looked around, counting four out of five, "There's one missing."

"Yeah," Red Tommy said, "the latest model, Dr. O, the Black Dino Thunder Power Ranger, is still recovering from his attack."

"What happened?"

"When you arrived, he just dropped to the floor and started twitching. We all experienced similar twinges but he really took a blow."

"Is he ok," Kimberly asked.

"Yeah, he's ok" White Tommy said, taking her other hand and smiling. "He's a tough one."

* * *

"It's never been this bad before. Is something wrong with him?"

Dr. K leaned closer to the immobile figure on the table. She lifted an arm and watched as it flopped limply back to his side. "I do not think so." She poked his forehead, "None of the other Tommy's reacted this badly." She stepped back, "No, I believe that this more intense reaction is simply because of the separation in their times. This Tommy is many years into the originals future while the other three are much closer. The time difference stunned his mind. The dull shadows that make up his shared past became clear for the barest of instants, it most likely overwhelmed his conscious mind and spent his sanity spinning into oblivion. He'll be fine."

"But Dr. K," Conner said, stepping in front of her to prevent her from leaving, "he's in pain."

"There is nothing we can do Dino Thunder Red. Right now only patience and time will heal him." She left, leaving Tommy's team to worry about him.

"So the youngest version of Dr. O is here," Conner asked, staring down at his mentor.

"Yeah," Kira said, "He's actually kind of cute."

Ethan stared at her, "You do realize what you just said, right?"

Kira shivered, "Yeah, weird."

Conner turned to his teammates, grinning brightly, "Guys, I have a plan!"

"Oh no you don't," Ethan insisted, "no more plans, no more schemes, no more ideas! You may be the Red Ranger but you seriously have the worst ideas."

Kira nodded, "Seconded."

"But we can't just leave him here," Conner insisted, "we have to do something!"

Kira glanced at their teacher. The grimace of pain on his face tore at her heart. She wished Trent was here to offer a different alternative. But no, he had to be scrounging around in Arthur's sisters' room. Reluctantly, she relented, "All right but nothing crazy. We have to approve whatever madness is swirling through that mind of yours."

"Ok, here's what I'm thinking..."

* * *

"_How_ old is he?"

"11."

"Wow." Green Tommy leaned back in the chair. "A little kid as a Power Ranger…"

Turbo Tommy nodded, "Yup. You should have seen the fights we had about him at first. Tanya and Kat thought he was _so_ cute but me and Adam had to have a long discussion with Zordon."

Kat glared at him, "He's a good kid Tommy."

Turbo Tommy raised his hands defensively, "I'm just saying!"

"What did Zordon say," Green Tommy asked.

"That this was something that had been predestined and it would all work out in the end. The normal explanation, fate, destiny, he trusted us to handle it. You know what he said about why we're here? He had been afraid that this would happen." He shook his head, "Sometimes I wonder if he can see into the future."

"Wait, Zordon's here too," Kimberly asked. She'd love to talk to him about their current situation. He did always seemed to be one step ahead.

"Yeah, he was the last one to appear, about two months ago," Red Tommy said. He had really loosened up around Kimberly over the course of the evening. He actually looked at her now even though his tone was still tight, "You didn't know? He's in the back room of the Command Center with Dimitra and The Mystic Mother. Most people stay away from that room though. Some of their conversations are so over our heads, it's like the Zeo Ultrazord to a flea."

They were silent for the first time in hours. The Tommy's had had a lot to talk about, from their Zords to the different positives of their respective colors to the best hair care products. That had turned hilarious when Kimberly casually mentioned that she used the same flowery scented shampoo as Red Tommy. His blush had almost out reded his suit. Kat had promised to never let him live it down.

What Kimberly really wanted to talk about was why the last Tommy wasn't here. It had been hours since they sat down to talk and she was getting worried that something had gone wrong. That the future Tommy wasn't ok. "Shouldn't we go check on the older Tommy? I mean, I'd like to make sure he's ok."

White Tommy stood, "Well, he's probably still over with the Dino Rangers. We could stop by on our way to showing you where you two will be staying. It's a bit out of the way but not too much."

"I'm ok with it," Green Tommy said, also standing, "I'm kind of anxious to see what I look like with all my hair cut off."

The two Red Tommy's exchanged glances then Turbo Tommy shrugged, "Sure, why not."

* * *

Walking the streets of a town made of cardboard and cups lit by bright lights of many colors with three copies of her boyfriend and a friend from the future, was only another chapter in the strangeness that had been this day. But luckily they didn't have to walk far and Red Tommy soon stopped next to a small building with another, even smaller, building attached.

He stepped up and knocked on the door, "Open up guys, we're just here to see us."

The door flew open and the young man frowned, "Aw man. We were just about to act out our plan!" He leaned back inside the building and called, "Guys you can stop looking for the tape now!"

"Why," another voiced asked.

"Because they're standing at the door!" He looked back at them, "Seriously, are you guys psychic?"

"Not that we know of," Turbo Tommy said. "Is Dr. O here?"

"Yeah, he's inside."

"Is he ok," Kimberly asked.

Conner's eyes paused on her and widened, "Well, hello."

"Stow it Conner," Red Tommy said gruffly. "We're coming in." He pushed by the kid in the doorway, the rest of the Tommy Brigade plus Kimberly and Kat following.

Inside were two other Rangers, one of them was yellow girl they had met earlier.

Kimberly walked over to her. "Kira, right," she asked. Kat had been telling her about the poor lone girl on the eldest Tommy's team. "Yellow Dino Thunder Ranger?"

"Yeah…"

She smiled, "Nice to meet you. I'm Kimberly, Pink Mighty Morphin Ranger. Are you the only girl on your team?"

Kira smiled back, "Yeah."

Kimberly whistled, "That must be tough. At least I have Trini as a guy buffer."

"Ugh,_ it is_. The only other girl I can remotely talk to is Haley but she usually sides with Dr. O!"

Kat walked over, "So what were you guys planning anyway? Why did you need tape?"

"Yeah, you probably don't want to know." Kira refused to meet their eyes.

They chatted a bit more about how some men were only good for lifting heavy objects, Kira specifically mentioned that Conner guy. A lot. In the process of discussing their teams, Kat informed Kim that Kira's DinoZord was also a pterodactyl at which point Kim laughed and hugged Kira tightly.

"I wonder if it's the same one," she wondered. "I mean, there can't be _that_ many ancient mechanical flying dinosaurs."

"I don't think so. Mine was yellow, not pink," Kira pointed out. It was hard to believe that this girl was as old as Dr. O. The person in front of her was definitely a teenager. Oh time travel, you strange creature.

Kimberly shrugged, "Oh well, it would have been cool."

* * *

"What do you think they're talking about," Green Tommy asked, watching the trio of girls chat.

"Us," White Tommy answered, thinking the same thing.

"Actually, I would say, you," Green Tommy nodded at Red Tommy's.

"What did I do," Red Tommy asked.

"You've been glaring and frowning at Kimberly since we got here. You've upset her and if she starts crying, I don't care if you are me, I'm going to hurt you."

Turbo Tommy shook his head, slowly, "Just don't get too attached to her."

White Tommy laughed, "It's a bit late for that! I mean, even after she went off to train for the Pan-Globals, we stayed in touch."

"Yeah, keep thinking that," Red Tommy muttered.

"Whatever it is," Green Tommy said, "stop."

"But you don't…"

"And I don't care!"

"That's a real nice declaration," a new voice said. "but I completely agree. Drop it Zeo."

"Hey Tommy," Turbo Tommy said to the tall man who stumbled into the room.

"Hey." Short hair spiked, wearing a black version of Conner and Ethans' suits, the leaned against the door, apparently still weak. He shook his head, "Not that I'm not happy to see you or anything youngest me but it took you long enough."

Before Green Tommy could express his annoyance at hearing that phrase yet again, the walls shook and they heard a ear shattering roar.

The Tommy's ran for the door first, all of them trying to fit through it at once. They failed and ended up arguing until Red Tommy just tore a hole in the wall and bolted through it. The rest of the Tommy Brigade followed.

Kat, Kimberly and the Dino Thunder Rangers exchanged amused glances then ran after them.

* * *

*AN*

Talk about multiple personality disorder, the multi-Rangers are a psychiatrists dream!

Next Week: A Brief Connection!

*CL*

Green Tommy

Kimberly

Red Tommy

Turbo Tommy

White Tommy

Pink Kat – Pink Zeo Ranger

Conner – Red Dino Thunder Ranger

Ethan – Blue Dino Thunder Ranger

Kira – Yellow Dino Thunder Ranger

Dr. O – Black Dino Thunder Ranger, older Tommy


	11. Chapter 11: A Brief Connection

Chapter 11 – Brief Connection

Dr. K threw the doors open, causing the room of Rangers reach for their missing weapons. Most of them noticed who it was and didn't seem at all surprised. "I didn't say you could leave _Mighty Morphin Blue!_"

Billy blushed, "But Jen said…"

"I don't care what Time Force Pink said! I need at least one of the _original_ Power Rangers to research how to reconnect to the Morphing Grid, find the weapons and things taken from us and return us home! And you are the ideal candidate seeing as you might _actually_ understand the process!" Dr. K started to pull Billy away when Jen intervened.

"Dr. K," Jen said, trying to calm the storm before it reached a thunderhead. "I know that you believe the Morphing Grid is the only way to get us back but if we can find out _how_ the Enemy used the Morphing Grid to trap us, we can reverse the path and send everyone back to their proper times."

"It is pointless to discover how, if we cannot access the Morphing Grid and find the parts of us stolen. If we leave now, we'll be incomplete people. I'm not even sure we would survive the trip." Dr. K tugged on Billy again, "I need Mighty Morphing Blue to assist me. You have plenty of other intelligent Rangers, you can spare this one."

Jen thought about it, she knew Trip had hoped to work with the legendary Billy Cranston but if Dr. K was right, they needed the Morphing Grid. She couldn't take the chance that she was wrong. She relented, "All right." She smiled sadly at Billy, "Sorry Billy. When you two finally figure it out, would you come work with us?"

Billy nodded, "Of course."

Jen waved as Dr. K dragged Billy behind her, out through the doors. That poor kid didn't know what he was getting into.

* * *

Dr. K led Billy into a tall, poorly lit, circular room.

"Welcome Billy," a booming voice said, "I am glad you are ok."

Billy squinted, "Zordon?"

Spotlights, made from tiny, focused lights, lit up the far area of the room. Zordon, still in his tube, glowed in the center of the room. His elongated face blue smiled at Billy. To his left was a woman, white mask covering her face and body. Her eyes sparkled in welcome. To Zordon's right was another lady in white. One who seemed eerily familiar.

Billy jumped back, "Is that Rita?"

"No," Zordon boomed. "This is the Mystic Mother. She is what Rita becomes after she has turned from the ways of evil."

Billy eyed her, she sure looked like Rita. He decided to ask her right out, "Are you Rita Repulsa?"

The woman nodded, "I was, I am, I will be. But I no longer fight for the forces of the dark. I have become the guardian of all users of good magic." A small smile flickered across her face, "And Power Rangers."

"So you protect Power Rangers now?"

"Yes."

Billy stared at her, remembering all the times Rita had sent monsters against them, disrupted their lives, injured them. But Tommy was once evil too. Of course, he was evil _because_ of Rita. He sighed, who was he to say that anybody was beyond redemption. "Very well." He nodded at the other lady, "I'm sorry. I have not had the pleasure of making your acquaintance."

"Isn't a name just a designation? Can you truly know who I am beyond the symbols used to represent me?"

Billy stared at her, "I'm sorry, I don't understand."

Dr. K rolled her eyes, "Her name is Dimitria. And she likes to talk in questions. Although I've heard her talk with the normal speech patterns used by people of Earth so I believe it to be merely a mental defect."

Dimitria's glared at her, "Do you have the right to judge me?"

"Yes," Dr. K said simply, "I do." She marched to the center of the room and motioned for Billy to join her. When he had she gestured again and the lights lit up the rest of the room, a stylized lightning bolt was carved into the carpet removed, concrete floor. On the wall, above the door they'd entered through was a series of circular, triangular and x symbols connected by both a confusing combination of wavy and straight lines.

"Do you know what this is Billy," Zordon asked.

"I am afraid that I do not," he answered truthfully. He didn't know but he was fascinated by it. There seemed to be some kind of pattern to the symbols, a purpose to the mass of lines. And if they had taken the time to draw it here, it must be important.

"This is the hyper-dimensional psyco-graphical representation of the Morphing Grid, it's connections to Power Rangers and the paths through out time and space that it weaves."

Billy's jaw fell to the floor, he looked at Dr. K who nodded, "It took me many years before I accidently tapped into its power to fuel my Ranger Series of combat suits. Once I knew what I was working with, I was curious as to how it worked. And with the help of Zordon, Dimitria and the Mystic Mother, I was able to map it out. With acceptable tolerances for errors of course."

"And what were you wanting to do with this knowledge?"

"Well Billy," the Mystic Mother said, "we were hoping you could find some way to reconnect the Rangers to it. The link has somehow been severed. I can no longer feel the magic source, Zordon, while still trapped in his time warp, can no longer access his abilities. You and the other Mighty Morphin Rangers are the first that Zordon bestowed the Powers upon. Time wise, there were others who came before you, yes. But without your actions, their powers, and those of all Rangers who followed you, would be nonexistent. Therefore, you are the first links in the Power Chain."

"And you wish me to reestablish my link and then, through me, connect all other Rangers?"

"Indeed," Zordon boomed. "Your intelligence serves you well Billy. We have great hope for your ability to resolve this situation quickly."

"But you will not have to do it alone," the Mystic Mother said with a smile that looked so strange on Rita's face, "You may ask the assistance of any Ranger, any mentor and, if they agree, any of the ones still struggling in the darkness."

"I will also be assisting you every step of the way, Mighty Morphing Blue," Dr. K said. "If there is anything that you do not understand or cannot comprehend, come to me and I will explain it to the best of my ability."

Billy looked back at her, he had been distracted. All ready working on deciphering the drawing in front of him. "So from what I can figure out, these circles are world?" He pointed at the largest one in the center, "And this represents Earth?"

Again Dr. K reevaluated her assessment of Mighty Morphing Blue, "…yes. How did you decipher that so quickly?"

"Well, once I knew what I was looking out, the rest just sort of made sense. And those little triangles, are those individual Rangers? I noticed how most of them group around Earth."

"Again, correct. And if you look closely enough, you see how those lines loop back around, connecting a few of the circles to the exes? I have hypothesized that those are timelines…"

* * *

"So what you're saying," Dr. K clarified," is that by taking that dimensional slip and looping it through the time stream, it will reset your connection to the Morphing Grid?"

The Yellow Mystic Force Ranger grinned, "Kind of like jumping a stalled car?"

"Exactly," Billy said. It had taken many hours, they had skipped the evening meal, or at least the two giant Jelly Beans that Dr. K thought was a appropriate meal, but Billy was sure he had stumbled upon a solution. If he knew dimensional physics for anything, it should work.

"And you need a jolt of lightning to do it?"

"A lot more than a jolt but will you help us Chip?"

"Of course! It's my duty as a superhero!" Chip was nearly dancing around in excitement. He could help save _generations_ of Power Rangers! He loved his job.

Billy directed Chip to stand in the center of the room, on top of the now ironic lightning bolt. "Ok. Dimitria and the Mystic Mother will attempt to connect to the aura around you. Once you feel their presence, gather the lightning and hold it. It will take a few minutes to build up enough charge and it will probably start to hurt to hold on to it. Once you have the most, I mean the very most, that you can hold, raise your arms into the air. Dimitria and the Mystic Mother will divide the power between them, once you feel it being taken, don't fight them, let them have it. They will then hold the charge between them, doubling it beyond what you could have. Together, they will send that power directly into Zordon's warp tube where he will very carefully follow my tether to the Power Grid. He is out of sync with our universe, not only in space but in time as well. He should be able divert the power into his space. Once he does, Dr. K and I will tell him a set of coordinates that we believe to be the center point of the Morphing Grid. He will direct the now passive power at that point, slipping it though the gates of dimensions and time and reconnecting the source to the Grid."

Chip blinked his eyes rapidly, trying to understand even a sentence of what Billy had just said. He gave up and asked simply, "And this will give us back our powers?"

"Yes."

"Okay. Let's rocket!" He grinned nervously, "The Space Rangers would kill me if they knew I was using their call. But I couldn't think of anything better." Then he closed his eyes, "Here I go."

The Mystic Mother held her staff in front of her. Dimitria closed her eyes.

"Now, _that_ is a weird feeling," Chip mumbled as he felt their presence settle over him. He held his hands a few inches apart. A single spark jumped between them. He grimaced, "It's harder to call to the elements now. Let me try again." He gritted his teeth and bolts of lightning four inches in diameter leapt from his hands, collecting it in the air between them.

An entire hour passed before Chip slowly raised his shaking hands. The ball of lightning was now wider than his arms could stretch, he held it out in front of him, sweating, his legs were locked into place. He wanted to fall to the floor but couldn't. He had never held this much power before. It was glorious and terrifying. Even with his eyes closed, he could see the lightning, feel the heat on his face. He wanted to simply take the lighting into himself, become one with the power. The lightning writhed in his hands, wanting the freedom to lash out at the one who dared to try and tame it. He struggled to raise his hands, almost dropping the ball multiple times. "That's all," he gasped. Then, just as he had been told to expect, he felt someone begin to take away the lightning. Stealing away the light that had become his whole world. Billy's words came back to him, 'Don't fight them.' He breathed deeply, pushing aside the desire. When the last flicker was taken, he collapsed on the ground, unconscious.

The Mystic Mother and Dimitria shared similar looks of pain. "It is so much," Dimitria whispered, forgetting to talk in questions in her awe. "So much Power!"

They held the lightning for thirty additional minutes before the Mystic Mother cried out, "Enough! I can't take it anymore!"

"I am ready," Zordon boomed.

Dimitria and the Mystic Mother began to glow. Dr. K and Billy watched as the lightning floated from the two on the sides, into Zordon in the middle. The light now emitting from the center tube made it impossible to look even indirectly near him. A few seconds passed and it zipped along an invisible line to Billy where it then faded, along with Zordon, the instant it touched him.

"It's up to him now," Dr. K said softly. She hated it when things were out of her hands but she was learning to trust other people. Surely Zordon, renowned and celebrated, could be trusted to finish the task.

* * *

Zordon drifted in the multi-colored space between dimensions. It felt so good to have his own body back. Hands and fingers, feet and toes. He wished he could feel the wind again, or the warmth of the sun. What he would trade to be back on Eltar right now.

The power he had been given, no longer made of matter, floated as a general blob beside him. It dwarfed him in size but he handled it as easily as if it were a baseball. The blue thread he had been following ended in front of him. It was no longer connected to the Source, it had merely pointed out the general direction.

"Space: 7-4-9," a soft voice echoed into the void. It was Dr. K, telling him where the energy should go. "Delta 34- Yipper 2- Racoon 942- 3-4-0. Time: Star-46-5- Happy- 3-1- Gold- 7-7-7. End."

Zordon obediently shoved the energy in the appropriate direction. A short skip though space and a jump through time later, Zordon noticed a distinctive change in the space around him. Dueling light replaced the range of colors before. The Source of the Morphing Grid. On one side the all consuming darkness, tore and ripped at its foe, the pure, white light. But the white seemed muted and the darkness more gray. Their dance was slow, both sides had suffered from the loss of their surrogate fighters, the Rangers and their foes, but nether side was willing to surrender. Zordon readied the energy blob and with one great toss, threw it into the heart of the storm.

* * *

"Something's happening," Billy noted as they watched Zordon's tube flickered to life and fade again.

"I don't think we will be filling the effects of the transfer this quickly," Dr. K corrected him.

Her words were proven wrong within the next second. Sound filled the room, a roaring like they had never heard before. A large creature stood towering over them, it's skeleton face cackling.

Billy felt the Power fill him again, the knowledge of the Rangers, the innate understanding of everything he needed to know. His Power Lance forced his hand apart. Feeling better than he had all day, he leapt at the boney monster, determined to protect both Dr. K and the still unconscious Chip.

* * *

*AN*

So…any guesses? Which monster is it?

*AN2*

I'm going to be extraordinarily busy next week and most likely won't have time to update so I'm going ahead and putting up next weeks chapter today. This also means that there won't be an update next week.

Next time on Power Rangers: The Skelton Dance

*CL*

Dr. K – Mentor RPM

Billy – Blue Mighty Morphin

Jen – Pink Time Force

Zordon – Mentor Mighty Morphing through In Space

Mystic Mother – Mentor Mystic Force

Dimitria – Mentor Turbo

Chip – Yellow Mystic Force Ranger


	12. Chapter 12:The Skeleton Dance

Chapter 12 – The Skelton Dance

Billy threw his Power Lance at the very familiar monster. You never forgot your first giant skeleton monster who wore a feathered hat and black cape. You just didn't. His Lance slipped through dem dry bones and bounced right off the spine.

Bones laughed at his attempt, "I doubt, Blue Ranger, that that would have worked. But it's the thought that counts!"

Billy stared at him, how had they defeated this one? Oh yeah, they'd needed their Zords, Trini and a convenient lava pit. Well they were short all three of those right now. Ok, so what did he have? Well, Dr. K had dragged Chip into the corner and was attempting to open the door. And…they were it.

Bones saw them, reached his hand up to his head and pulled his head off. "I'll get you yet, Ichabod Crane!" He threw his cackling head at the defenseless Dr. K who shoved Chip behind her and glared defiantly at her oncoming doom. Even though he knew he wouldn't make it, Billy sprinted towards them.

"Oh, no you don't!" A green flash appeared in front of Dr. K. Ziggy grinned, "Ziggy to the rescue!" He caught the head with a grunt, "That's no way to get _a head_ in life!" He drop kicked the head towards Billy, who caught it and held on tight.

The eyes glared up at him, "Body! Come here!"

The headless body slowly stumbled around, heading in his general direction, blindly swinging his sword side to side.

Ziggy turned to Dr. K, "Are you ok, Dr. K?"

Dr. K couldn't look at him, she refused to let him see her blush, "I'm fine Ranger Series Green. Thank you for your assistance."

"Any time."

Dr. K glanced at him then quickly looked back away. Her blush grew brighter. "Would you please help Mystic Ranger Yellow? He was rendered unconscious in our plan to reconnect to the Morphing Grid."

"Sure." Ziggy leaned down and tugged the taller man up. "Wow, he's heavier than he looks."

But Bones blundering body was getting smarter. And faster. It would stand still and wait until his head yelled out and then sprint in that direction. It took every ounce of speed Billy had just to dodge the skeleton. "A little help here?"

"Billy, duck!"

He did so just as a Power Axe flew over his head and imbedded itself into Bones's bony ribcage. A whip of water lashed out, knocking the bonebag to the ground almost contemptuously.

Zack ran up next to Billy, "You ok?"

"I believe I am unscathed. But it was close, I would not have been able to out run him for much longer."

"Good timing, got it. Hey, have you met Tori and Blake?"

A light blue and a navy blue ran up next to Zack. "We've got our powers back," Tori asked.

"Oh yeah," Blake said with a grin.

Bones head struggled again in Billy's arm. "Hey, let me go!" It bit deeply into Billy's arm and he dropped it. The head flew into the air and reattached itself to its body. "You can't keep a good skeleton down!" His body leapt to his feet in a very skeleton like fashion, bones disconnecting from bones and yet coming back together somehow. He crossed the room, again with speed he should not have, aiming for Zack's unprotected head. "The knee bone's connected to the Rangers head!"

Zack threw himself to the side, just missing the boney kneecap. Bones continued on, knocking a hole in the cardboard wall behind them.

"Now I know why we needed helmets," Zack muttered, getting back to his feet. "Well, come on." He ran after the fugitive monster.

Tori, Blake and Billy followed.

They cornered Bones just outside the Command Center. He had stopped for some reason. They soon found out why.

"No, go that way!" Bones head and body seemed to be disagreeing on where to go from here. They were locked in a dueling stalemate.

"Quick," Zack called, "While it's distracted!"

Bones heard them, "They're here! Turn around you big dolt!"

Tori and Blake, being ninjas, leapt high into the air and twin attacked Bones spine bone which was connected to his neck bone which quickly lost its connection, flying through the air again.

"Oh come on," the head complained. "I'm not a soccer ball!"

Zack sprang towards the again aimless body and retrieved his axe. He swung it on his down jump and one of the ribs came free, clattering to the ground. Billy followed suit, punching another rib loose where it joined the first one on the ground.

Bones head watched this with dismay, "Hey, stop tearing me apart!" He growled and started floating again, "I'm so going to get you for that!"

"Oh no you're not!" A blur of white and red slammed into Bones body, knocking its arms off. It thrashed around but no longer had very good balance or aim, being headless, armless and brainless.

White Tommy and Red Tommy landed on the other side of the body. They turned and pointed at the head, "You're next bonehead!"

"We've got it!" Turbo Tommy and Green Tommy surrounded the head.

Turbo Tommy smirked, "You're not going anywhere."

"Is he one of ours? I don't remember him," Green Tommy said.

"Before your time kid," Zack called as he knocked another rib off Bones body.

"Stop it," the head screamed. Blake kicked another off and the skull began to glow with rage, "Enough!" The many parts that made up Bones boney form split apart, the ribs and arms on the ground flew into the air, his head soared upward. "You've had your fun, you've had your game. It's my turn now!"

The bones spun around in a flashing whirlwind, the head at the epicenter, cackling wildly. "It's my turn now!"

A shin bone darted at Tori but a shield of water sprang up around her before it could do any damage. A toe bone, tiny and almost impossible to see, flashed down at Red Tommy. He knocked it away. A large arm bone and rib bone flew towards Green Tommy but he jumped back and the bones imbedded themselves in the carpet. They struggled uselessly.

"You can't stop me!"

"Just watch us!" Zack leapt up, aiming for the head but was knocked away by a pair of leg bones and a foot bone.

"We can't get at him," Billy observed, "If we try and attack, we just get swarmed by bones."

"Well you're the smart one," White Tommy called out, "Think of something!"

They were now all dodging the mass of bones. Most of the attacks they were able to dodge through a combination of luck and skill. But there were more than a few that struck home. A well placed and speedy heel bone smashed Turbo Tommy in the back, knocking him to the ground. A quintet of finger bones flying in v formation slashed at Zack's face.

Kimberly, Pink Kat, Conner, Ethan and Kira ran up to help him, kicking, slapping and punching the fingers away, earning a more than few scratches and bruises for themselves. Kimberly raised her Power Bow and started shooting her arrows at the head but she could never land a hit. There were just too many bones in the way to get a clear shot.

Kira gathered her breath and readied her Ptera Scream when a strong hand on her shoulder told her to stop.

Black Dino Thunder Tommy calmly strolled into center the storm, eyes focused on the skull. The bones above him twisted and raged, the skull at the center sent an army of fingers at him but he didn't flinch.

Bones laughed at this new competitor, "What are you going to do?"

"Oh, me? Absolutely nothing." He pointed above Bones, "But he is."

High above their heads, Merrick threw Jason as hard as he could from the wooden planks beneath Arthurs bed. Bones had been so distracted by his friends and the other Rangers that he hadn't noticed them sneak up above him.

With a yell Jason grabbed the head and held it beneath his feet, smashing it into the ground where it shattered and disappeared.

The other bones dropped from the sky and vanished.

And at the same time the bones vanished, so did all of the Ranger's weapons and gear. Their suits remained.

"What happened," Ethan asked. "Where did our stuff go?"

Dr. K and Ziggy, who was still carrying Chip, walked through the hole in the wall of the Command Center. "It appears that our connection to the Power Grid was only temporary," Dr. K said. "Our solution most likely didn't even work until this monster forced his way here. He jarred the door to the Power Core open and we were able to access it. But the instant he was destroyed, so too was the door he made." She sighed, "I'm afraid we will not be able to gain access it again until we have recovered the items stolen from us."

"But we just had them," Kimberly said, waiving with the hand that had a few seconds ago held her Power Bow. "How can they be stolen if we just had them?"

"I will have to study the matter further." She turned back to the Command Center, "We'll have to find a new box however. I cannot work with a hole in my research lab."

* * *

Jason basked in the congratulations of his team.

"That was awesome man," Zack said appreciatively. "Attacking him from above! Brilliant!"

"Very nice Jason," said Kimberly with a smile.

"That was a truly prudent and well timed attack," Billy said. He thought about it then tried again, "I mean, …really cool…? Dude."

Green Tommy high fived Jason with a grin, "That's why you're the man!"

The rest of the Rangers chimed in compliments and expressions of awe.

Jason acknowledged them with a grateful nod.

Black Tommy smiled, "It's nice to see you again Jason." He turned to include all of his former team, "It's good to see all of you again."

Kira, Conner and Ethan grinned at Green Tommy. Ethan smirked, "I just have to say, _nice mullet_ young Dr. O."

"It's not a mullet!" Green Tommy stared at them, realizing something important, "Wait, how is he _Dr._ O again?"

"Apparently," Turbo Tommy said, "we get a doctorate when we decide to grow up and go to college."

"A doctorate? In what?"

"Get this," Red Tommy said with a grin, "paleontology."

"Palent-whatly?"

"The study of dinosaurs! Ha!"

"No, really?"

Dr. O frowned, "It's not that funny."

"Yeah it is," Jason said, "Dragon guy studying _actual_ dinosaurs. What were you jealous you didn't get a real animal Zord?"

"Hey," White Tommy said, annoyed, "I get a tiger!"

Trini grinned, "Is it saber-toothed?"

"Well…no."

"Yup, he's a clear case of awesome-Zord jealously. He never can get a good one, he either gets something fake or something not as cool."

The non-Tommy's laughed while the Tommy Brigade scowled. They unused to being made fun of. They didn't like it.

"If you are done," Dr. K said, cutting off the laughter. "We still have a major problem."

"Oh come on Dr. K," Ziggy said, setting Chip gently against the wall, "We're just having a little fun."

"We are in a strange world and made of plastic, Ranger Series Green. Those of our enemies who were sent here with us are still working under the delusion that they can defeat us and one of them found what they were missing thus regaining use of their powers! We are not here to have fun, we're here to try and go home."

"Well," Tori asked, "What do you suggest we do next? Your first plan didn't really work out so well."

"No, Wind Ranger Blue, it did not work as planned. But it did give me a great clue as to where our lost weapons and accessories went."

"What do you mean?"

"I was incorrect in my assumption that we lost them. That they are physically in another place. Instead we merely lost our connection to them, like how you Rangers lost your connection to the Morphing Grid."

"So, if we can't reconnecting to the Morphin Grid," Billy asked, "And we can only get the things we lost through the Morphing Grid, what can we do to regain them?"

"I have a better question," Blake said, speaking up. "If we can't actually find the things, then how did Grumm get his powers back?"

Dr. K frowned, "I… I don't know."

* * *

*AN*

The Skeleton Dance is a pretty cool/cute/slightly scary six minute long, very early Disney short that was the first Silly Symphony. IN CINEPHONE!

Dem Dry Bones is the first verse of the rhyme that some of you will know very well a few lines of which have been scattered throughout the page. Find them all!

See you again on the 31st!

*CL*

Billy – Blue Mighty Morphin Ranger

Dr. K – Mentor RPM

Chip – Yellow Mystic Ranger

Ziggy – Green RPM Ranger

Zack – Black Mighty Morphin Ranger

Tori – Blue Ninja Ranger

Blake – Navy Ninja Ranger

White Tommy – White Mighty Morphin Ranger(2nd - 3rd season)

Red Tommy – Red Zeo Ranger

Turbo Tommy – Red Turbo Ranger

Kimberly – Pink Mighty Morphin Ranger

Pink Kat – Pink Zeo Ranger

Conner – Red Dino Thunder Ranger

Ethan – Blue Dino Thunder Ranger

Kira – Yellow Dino Thunder Ranger

Dr. O – Black Dino Thunder Ranger, older Tommy

Merrick – Lunar Wild Force Ranger

Jason – Red Mighty Morphin Ranger


	13. Chapter 13: Why Villains Cannot

Chapter 13 – Why Villain's Cannot Be Trusted

"So Bones showed up huh?"

The Putty nodded, gibbering in its strange tongue.

"And the Rangers destroyed him _again?_"

Another nod.

Rita sighed, "That idiot. Just thinking of all the monsters who failed me gives me such a headache!"

The Putty wandered away.

She watched it go with a strange feeling of longing for her other absent minions. Finster most of all. The little dog could create the most wonderful things. She could use something wonderful. A truly terrifying creature to make the Rangers shake in their multi-colored uniforms. Unlike this motley collection of wannabes.

She looked around the room at the scattering of the various villains and enemies of the other Ranger teams. Most were sitting crouched deep in chairs or were leaning sourly against the cobbled together furniture. Moaning to anyone around how unfair the numerical advantage that the Rangers had was or bragging about how close they'd come to destroying them. Fools. A few of the more resilient had gathered together in the far corner and were sitting at the only well made table and chairs. She slouched over to them. Their plan to rally the villains hadn't gone as planned. For one thing, the other villains had laughed at them and gave them a detailed rundown of all the times they tried to attack the Rangers and win. And even with them all attacking at once, they'd failed. Four times. Now they were dispirited and complacent. They figured that once they returned to their own times, there would be fewer Rangers and a greater chance to destroy them. Fools. Lazy fools.

Zedd greeted her, "And…"

"One of my first monsters, Bones. They killed him again." She sighed and sat roughly down in a chair made an stuffed pink glove. "Stupid thing never had a chance."

"Which one did him in," a nearby villainess asked.

"The Red Ranger," Rita replied. "Crushed his skull beneath his feet."

Trakeena winced, "Ouch. I _hate_ those Red ones." She scowled, "If we could eliminate them, surely the rest would fall apart."

"I'm not so sure," Ransik replied, leaning back in his plastic chair, "I killed the Red one in my time and his girlfriend came back in time just to kick my ass."

"You actually killed a Power Ranger," King Mondo asked, impressed. "How?"

Ransik shrugged, "Stabbed him. Annoyingly, it turns out that he didn't _actually_ die but the Pink one thought I had for the longest time and that's all that mattered to her."

"Really," Rita laughed, "A villain who doesn't want to kill the Rangers! How pathetic."

"Oh, don't get me wrong," Ransik growled, "I want to kill every _last_ human on this planet! And that includes every Power Ranger as well!" He stood and stormed away. A long haired pink headed girl who was sitting at a nearby sighed table and followed him. Pausing only for to briefly glare at Trakeena.

"What's his problem," Zedd asked. "And hers."

"Oh, he just has issues with humans, they slighted him or something." Trakeena chuckled, "He'll calm down in a few hours after he's destroyed something." She leaned in closer, "And besides, he is a magnificent, cold hearted mutant with very few qualms against violence. If it wasn't for that, I would have grown tired of his whining and disposed of him a long time ago." Trakeena scowled, "But the kid…we've had words."

"Was he the one who planned the fiasco of an attack we saw," asked Rita.

"No, that was Grumm and Dark Spector acting on their own. They thought that with Grumm obtaining some of his abilities, they would be able to surprise the Rangers enough to get to the Command Center. This was actually their third attempt."

"Why is the Command Center so important?"

Trakeena shrugged, "Don't know. The Rangers and their friends won't let any of us in past the main room. They're hiding something back there that they don't want us evil doers to see."

Lord Zedd pounded the table with a fist, "You think they're hiding the reason we've been turned into children's toys!"

"Of course. Why else would they hide something?"

"So all you were trying to do was enter that back room?" Rita remembered passing it and briefly wondering what was in there but hadn't questioned it beyond that.

"Yes. But all the Rangers know us on sight. We're not very good at blending in around here."

"But they just let us walk around? Even though they don't trust us?"

"For the most part. If someone tries too many times in a row, they lock them up in one of the thermoses for awhile. The Psycho Rangers I rescued to fight the Galaxy Rangers have been locked up since day one. They would _not_ stop trying to kill the Space Rangers."

"Psycho Rangers?"

"Evil copies of the Rangers."

"Ha," Zedd snarled, "copycat. I created evil clones of the Rangers first!"

Angrily, Rita tried to point out that, _actually_, she had created evil ranger copies months before Zedd even showed up. Twice. But Trakeena ran over her protest.

"Oh pluh-lese," Trakeena drawled loudly with a smirk, "Your clones were nothing more than painted Putties."

Rita tried again, getting so far as "My monster, Twin Man…" before Trakeena overran her again.

"These copy Rangers actually came close to really defeating their counterparts many times."

Furious, Rita forgot about her claim of the first evil Ranger copies and instead went on the attack. "And you say that they're strong, these Psycho Rangers," Rita asked quickly before Trakeena could continue talking.

"Very."

"But they couldn't actually defeat the Rangers?"

"Well…no."

"Then they were nothing more than painted Putties too!" Rita cackled.

Trakeena scowled. She wasn't used to other's talking down to her. She didn't like it. At all.

"Laaaaadies….," a nearby voice hissed.

Trakeena's scowl deepened, she like this guy even less. "Mesagog." She faked a smile, "How are you?"

The dino headed villain bowed, "I…am fine." He nodded to Zedd, "Lord Zedd." When he came to Rita he bowed again, "Empress Rita, how _beautiful_ you look today."

Rita smiled warmly, "I do, don't I?" She gave him a quick elevator gaze, "And who might you be, you handsome thing?"

Mesagog bowed again, "I…am Mesagog. The mortal enemy of the Dino Thunder Rangers."

"You're also the legal guardian of one of the twerps," Trakeena muttered. "And you still can't beat them."

Mesagog stared at her until she dropped her head, "Indeed." He sat down in the empty chair, "But that is _not_ why I came over here."

Rita's smile grew, "And why might that be?"

"Why you of course, Rita, my dear. I…understand that you are _familiar_ with the largest thorn in my side."

"I'm assuming it's a Ranger?"

"Of course."

"You're going to have to narrow it down a bit." Now that she had her memories back, she could remember facing so many teams of Rangers. "I've been doing this for awhile."

"I believe he was once in your service. Unwillingly but still working for your dark purpose."

There was only one name that came to mind. She growled, "Tommy."

"Yeeeeees…"

"He stole my Green Ranger powers! And he flaunts them." Her voice gained heat, "he walks around like they had been his since time began, uses them against me!"

"Exactly."

"What about him," Lord Zedd snarled. "What are you _really_ asking?"

He motioned and a strange looking creature with a sunken in face hobbled to the table. It sat an object down on the table then hobbled back away.

"What was that thing?"

"One of my four remaining Tyrannodrones. They were… deformed in the translation into plastic." He picked up the object on the table, "I believe this is familiar to you."

Rita grabbed it, "The Green Rangers helmet!" She turned it over a few times in her hands, "But what do you want me to do with this? It's only a helmet."

Mesagog tapped the helmet with a clawed finger, "No, this is a piece of his _soul_."

Rita remembered that short woman with black hair saying things like that. But still… "It's a helmet."

Mesagog sighed, "Just hold on to this." He stood to leave, "I am confident that the Rangers will figure out what has happened to us and fix it. They are very good at things like that. And when they do and we are sent home, I would like to know that Tommy Oliver will not return with us. Or at least, not entirely." He walked away, the strange Tyrannodrone following.

"Well," King Mondo said, "That gives me a wonderful idea."

"Steal the Rangers helmets and weapons. Hide them so that they are incomplete when we do go home," Trakeena asked, loving this idea. "They won't be expecting it. They think they've quelled us by sheer numbers."

"Exactly."

Rita tossed the helmet to Zedd, "What do you think Ed?"

Lord Zedd caught it with a low laugh, "If we can weaken the longest lasting Ranger, the one who challenges us not once but _five times_, it is a rare chance. _And_ if we can damage _every_ Ranger team even slightly? I think… we can rewrite our fates."

"All right then," Rita said, "Who else can we trust with this? Surely there are those villains here who would alert the Rangers to our plans?"

Trakeena leaned back in her chair, "Unfortunately there are a few who have decided that, in the current situation, it would be better to actually befriend the Rangers. But I know those who would leap at this chance."

"Can you get in contact with them?"

"Oh, easily. Like I said, the Rangers think that most of us are quelled." She grinned, "We shall show them just how wrong they are."

* * *

Karone listened to the plans the evil ones began to make. She needed every detail if she was to stop them.

When she thought she had enough, she quietly pulled away from the thin cardboard wall. These villains sometimes forgot that they weren't in their impenetrable fortresses anymore, they were in houses of cardboard and candy. They had to be just as careful as the Rangers were when planning. Eavesdropping was as simple as being nearby. She slipped through the narrow ally way between the villains hangout and the house next door when a shadowy figure stepped in front of her.

"Now, now," a feminine voice said, "We can't have you running off to tattle."

"Astronema." Karone started walking backwards, she didn't want to fight her younger self.

"Karone." Astronema walked slowly after her. "Where are you going in such a hurry?" She narrowed her eyes, "I'm done playing with you Karone, I've allowed you to run free for long enough. I cannot allow you to disrupt our plans."

"Our plans? I didn't hear you in there." If she had, she would have left and gotten help. Astronema was one of the very few villains that was still extremely dangerous and she had a huge grudge against her future, good, self. Karone usually avoided her to the best of her ability.

"I'm not talking about the simple theft of helmets and shoes, I'm talking about the _real_ plans being implemented. While those idiots do such petty actions as playing hide and seek with the Rangers, a small, select group will be doing more important things." Astronema shoved Karone backwards, knocking her into a large, bulky figure.

The Red Psycho Ranger grinned, "Hi."

In shock, Karone choked out a gasped. This was not the same face that the Red Psycho Ranger had when they locked up in the coffee thermos. Some power had altered it, much to Karone's horror.

Andros's face, Andros's smile; only not. Andros had never smiled this way. This was the kind of smile that would make even the most courageous of men flinch. Instead of dark brown eyes, vivid blue stared down at her with bright, burning hatred, his brilliant blonde hair was streaked with black. He picked her up by her throat, choking her, "I won't let you ruin our plans." She flinched at his voice, he sounded just like her brother too. "We're going to kill you," he whispered. "We're going to kill you all." He tightened his grip on her throat, laughing with chilling similarity to her dear brothers laugh.

Karone struggled, flailing and kicking. She had to get free, had to warn the rest of the Rangers. But he was too strong.

Astronema gloated, arms crossed, "You know, I'm actually surprised that you were one of the people on the list. I wouldn't have thought a reformed villain would be trusted that much. It just shows how foolish these Rangers are. Because they trusted you, they will lose something very important to them." She walked closer, "At first, we weren't sure how to take you down but see, I know that you've made yourself more human than anyone else here. You were afraid of being me again so you tried to be as human as you could to distance yourself from that part of yourself."

Psycho Red squeezed harder.

"What I'm saying here, the point I'm trying to make is… you actually need to breath."

Karone's air supply vanished and she blacked out.

* * *

*AN*

Plans, plans, plans. Evil plans.

Really, the Rangers should have known better. Should have known that their foes wouldn't roll over so easily.

But what is this new group of villains planning? It won't be baking cookies I can promise you that.

*AN2*

This Chapter has been updated. Thanks to JasonTKD for pointing out that Rita was the first one to make copy Rangers. I'd completely forgotten about Twin Man and the Mutant Rangers!

Next Week: A Childs Plaything

*CL*

Rita Repulsa – Mighty Morphin villain

Lord Zedd – Mighty Morphin villain

Trakeena – Lost Galaxy villain

Ransik – Time Force villain

Mesagog – Dino Thunder villain

King Mondo – Zeo villain

Karone – second Pink Lost Galaxy Ranger

Astronema – brainwashed Karone and In Space villain

Psycho Red – evil double of the In Space Red Ranger


	14. Chapter 14: A Child's Plaything

Chapter 14 – A Child's Plaything

"Where did the Mighty Morphin ones go?" Arthur furiously opened his drawers and tossed around papers. "Argh! Why do they always disappear?" He paused in mid snarl, of course. He should have known. "Sarah!" He marched to his door and threw it open, yelling down the hall, "Sarah, have you been in my room again?"

"Maaaaayyyyybeee…" A small figure peeked through her door, grinning. "Maaaayyyybeee not."

Arthur stormed down the hall, furious.

Sarah squeaked, shutting and locking her door.

Arthur pounded on it, "Give me back my Power Rangers!"

"I don't have your stupid dolls," Sarah yelled back. "They're not pretty enough!"

"They're not dolls! They're! Action! Figures!"

"Whatever!"

"Mom!" Arthur, realizing he couldn't just kick down the door, yet, he hadn't gotten that far in karate class, retreated to a higher authority. "Mom, Sarah took my Power Rangers again!"

"Sarah," they heard their mothers voice say, "Did you take your brothers things?"

"Noooo!"

"You're sister says she doesn't have them Arthur."

"She's lying," Arthur cried, "You always take her side." He stormed back to his room and slammed the door as loudly as he could. The walls shook. He fumed, leaning against the door. No one ever listened to him. He glanced at his desk where the half a dozen Power Ranger figures sat. Different ones than he'd left when he went to school. But those had disappeared by the time he came home and had to leave for soccer practice. Sarah couldn't have taken them, she had ballet right after school. His eyes narrowed, there were action figure thieves about. Invisible ones who could sneak in and out of locked doors. They probably had green skin and came from outer space. He would have to devise a security system to keep them out of his house.

* * *

When his parents and sister finally went to bed, Arthur carefully got out of bed and tip toed to his desk. His sketched out plans had replaced his again forgotten homework. Rough sketches of his front door, the hallway and the stairwell. Yeah, he thought, this would trap those aliens. He pulled a spool of string from his desk and saw the Ranger figures still sitting on his desk. They would be in danger if he left them here. The ninja aliens would take them. He grabbed them and stuffed them and the bad guy in his robe pocket.

He opened his door slowly. It didn't even creak. He listened, hearing the sound of his father's snoring and his sister's stupid music before stepping out. He was down the stairs in a flash, sliding down the banister since the stairs couldn't be trusted to keep their silence.

Now standing in front of his front door, he pulled a single strand off his ball of string and set to work. He tied one end on the door handle then stretched it around the various objects and furniture in the hall, looping it through table legs and taping it to the walls. He tied it off at the base of the stairs. He worked his way up the stairs with the string, twisting it through the hand rail on both sides and being sure to stand only on the very edges of the stairs. Twisting it so much that no one could so much as breathe between them. Once he finished that. He went to his sisters room and secured her door against the evil thieves then did the same with his parents. By the time he was finished, he was out of string.

* * *

He stared at the empty spool. Now how could he protect his few remaining Ranger figures from the invisible alien ninja thieves?

Wearing his own, homemade Power Ranger helmet, painted red of course, and holding his light saber, also red, as if expecting an attack any second, Arthur stood facing his door. He had barricade the door to the best of his ability, his desk chair had been pressed up underneath the knob and he had taped the sides with duct tape he'd found lying right next to his bed. Nothing was getting past the labyrinth of string_and_ that.

The ninja's wouldn't get past him.

He settled down on the floor, ready to wait all night to protect what was his.

* * *

He must have fallen asleep. He woke up to find himself lying on top of his bed, the covers still messy from when he woke up this morning. He rubbed sleepy hands in his eyes, he couldn't have been out for long. It was dark outside, he could see the moon through his window. It was bright and full and in the same place the moon was last time he'd checked it before falling asleep.

The house was too quiet. He pressed his ear against the door. He couldn't hear his dad's snoring or his sister's bad pop songs. He shivered, when did it get so cold? He reached into his pocket, the figures were still there. So he hadn't been attacked yet while he was asleep. He hadn't failed.

The house shook. Small pictures and trophies fell from the shelves on his walls. The books tumbled off his desk. His alarm clock clanked to the floor.

"Ah!" Was it an earthquake? The shaking stopped and Arthur tore open his door, easily ripping the tape and chair out of the way. His family, he had to know they were ok! He pressed a button and his light saber glowed. Soft red light lit his way as he walked towards Sarah's room. The paintings and pictures had fallen off the walls.

He noticed that her door was cracked, the string lay on the floor like it had been cut off with a sharp knife. He shoved it the rest of the way open, "Sarah!"

Darkness. There was no light in his little sisters room. Even her small window, covered with bright pink curtains, was dark. No moon light shone through it. "Sarah?"

He moved to her bed. She was still asleep. Her eyes were closed, her breathing shallow but normal. So who had opened the door?

A teddy bear hit him in the head.

He twirled, "Who's there?"

A shadow moved in the darkness. Something slithered towards him, hissing.

It scared him. It terrified him. He wanted to run. But he was standing in front of his sister. He wasn't going to move. He raised his light saber and repeated, "Who's there?"

"Ooooo," a whispy voice hissed, "What a brave little boy." The shadow entered the light of his saber. It was a giant snake. With a human face. And two scaly arms that ended in clawed hands. She smirked down at him, dark hair partly obscuring her rough face, "Brave little boy, what are you going to do? Beat me up with that plastic little toy?" She scoffed, "Right."

"Who are you," Arthur demanded, not able to keep any of the fear or tremble out of his voice.

The snake hissed a laugh, "Me?" She slithered closer, "I am the servant of the greater will. I am a shard of the greater dream. I serve those who rip apart time and space with a whim." She reared up, towering over the scared boy, "I am your worst nightmare." She leapt towards him, snake fangs drawn back in a snarl.

With a yell, he raised his light saber, knowing it wouldn't protect him.

"Rangers, go!"

Arthur felt something leap out of his pocket but he couldn't force his eyes open to look, there was a giant snake about to eat him! He heard small yells and the snake monster hiss and scream. He waited for the blow that never came. His eyes cracked open and saw both the strangest and most awesome sight he'd ever seen.

His six three inch tall Power Rangers action figures had come to life and were proceeding to beat the tar out of the snake lady.

T.J., the Blue Space Ranger, was flying through the air, he kicked the snake right in the stomach. But she didn't doubled over in pain, he was only three inches tall and didn't have much punching power. They could swarm the thing however.

"No! You can't be alive!" She batted at them but they were unusually experienced at fighting with things larger than they were. She just couldn't hit them. "You're not supposed to be moving!"

Leo, the Red Lost Galaxy Ranger, realized what she was saying, "You know who did this to us! Who was it?" He growled when she wouldn't answer, "Who did this?"

"Tell us," Tideus, the Yellow Alien Ranger, demanded. "We have a right to know!"

The snake managed to grab onto the Black Operation Overdrive Ranger. She squeezed him in her fist, hissing in anger, "You were supposed to sleep. Nothing more than dolls!"

Will cried out in pain.

Dana, the Pink Lightspeed Rescue Ranger, stabbed down at the snakes' wrist, holding a pair of pointed hair pins, "Let. Him. Go!" The snake snarled and dropped Will.

A blur of violet caught him before he hit the ground. R.J., the Violet Wolf Ranger, helped him stand, "You ok Will?"

Will grimaced, "Been better, been worse."

The six Power Rangers gathered together. They valiantly stood between Arthur and the monster.

The monster glowered down, "Power Rangers."

"Yes, we are," T.J said. "And we don't like it when monsters threaten little children."

"Even when we're three inches tall and plastic," R.J. added.

"Especially then," insisted Will.

"We will defend this boy," Tideus yelled.

"Basically," Dana said, glaring up at the creature, "we're not going to stand by while you bully Arthur."

Leo smirked, "Because we're the _Power Rangers_."

They scattered, each in a different direction. The snake couldn't follow them all. She tried to watch the Red blur, usually the more dangerous of the Rangers, leaning over to try and make herself a smaller target. But while she was distracted, she was hit over the head by the one person she didn't think was a threat.

A oversized fairy princess wand, made of thick, hard, metal smashed into the snake's skull. She dropped like a stone.

Arthur smiled, basking in the glow of his actions. He'd just taken out a real monster! "That was _so cool_."

* * *

"Oh please Divatox, you didn't help at all!"

"I did too!" Divatox glared at Blue T.J. "I was the one who suggested that you needed help! The kid was just standing there!"

"So were you!"

Divatox sniffed, "I was your back up."

"You were useless."

"Hey…um…Power Rangers." Arthur wasn't quite sure what to call them. They were action figures, but they were alive. And they were Power Rangers. His mind had trouble wrapping around that thought. Power. Rangers. Were. Real…ly small. "I'm sorry, but am I dreaming?"

"Oh man, they are so going to kill us," Tideus moaned. "The kid knows about us!"

"Us?" Arthur perked up, there were more than these?

"Tideus, shut up man," R.J. hissed. "You'll only make it worse."

"We didn't really have a choice," Leo said. "The monster was going to attack him."

T.J. sighed, "It really doesn't matter now. We can explain ourselves when we get back. First," he pointed to the tied up snake monster, "how are we going to get this back. We can't leave it in here."

"I can drag it," Arthur suggested helpfully. "But you have to tell me what's going on."

The Rangers glanced at each other, the kid was a lot bigger than them.

"Ok then Arthur, but you have to promise, not to freak out," said Tideus. "It's going to be a bit of a shock."

A few strenuous minutes later, Arthur dumped the snake woman on the floor, gasping for breath. "That…was not easy."

"Sorry we could be much more helpful," Blue T.J. apologized, "But we're just so small."

"It's cool," Arthur said. He sat down on his bed, "So…what happened?"

Dana and Leo glanced at each other. Dana decided to go ahead and explain, "Well, we actually don't know."

"Maybe _he_ knows," Leo suggested, struck by a brilliant idea.

"Huh?"

"We're a TV show here, right? Maybe the lives of the Rangers on TV could give us a hint? Who are the Rangers on TV right now?"

"Oh," Arthur debated telling them. But he was still awestruck that they actually existed. It just sort of slipped out, "Power Rangers has been canceled."

The Rangers stared up at him, shocked. Canceled.

"What does that mean," Will asked. "Are we all going to die?"

Will's question worked R.J into a panicked tizzy, "Is our universe still alive? Did some Ranger team finally fail?"

"Calm down Will, R.J," T.J. demanded loudly. "Just because they've stopped the show _here_, does not mean we're all killed or our universe is destroyed, or that the villains won." The two Rangers nodded, ashamed of their temporary panic. T.J. looked back up at Arthur who was looking down at them with a peculiar expression. "What?"

Arthur shook his head, "I guess I never really thought about you as anything more than characters on TV. It's weird that you're alive, sure. But it feels stranger that you have fears and feelings. I guess…I can't think of you as just fake characters anymore because you're not just action figures, you're people."

Dana wanted to hug the kid, "That's very grown up of you Arthur."

"Hey, look Bulk," a voice called from near the bed, "the Power Rangers went and told the kid!"

"Ha ha. Just wait till we tell that cute Pink Ranger, Skull. She'll kill them."

The Rangers groaned with one voice as two figures walked from under the dust ruffle.

"Which Pink Ranger," Skull asked. "I think they're all cute."

The larger of the pair, slapped the smaller one on the shoulder, almost knocking him over, "The Time Force one dummy."

"Oh…right!" Skull pointed at the Power Rangers, laughing, "You're going to be in soooo much trouble!"

Arthur reached down and picked the two laughing figures up, "Wow, Bulk and Skull are real too? But you guys aren't Power Rangers!"

Bulk preened, puffing out his chest and punching Skull on the arm, "_We_ are _just_ as big a heroes as the Rangers are! Of course the Enemy would want us out of the way too."

"The Enemy," Arthur asked. "Who's that?"

Bulk covered his mouth, "Oops."

Skull pointed at him and laughed, "Dr. K's going to kill you!"

"Dr. K? How many of you are there?"

Bulk smirked, "Quite a few."

* * *

*AN*

Yes, when I first thought of this, Power Rangers had been cancelled for good. But it's not anymore! Seriously, what's this, the fifth time it's been canceled then un cancelled? But this is the closest I think it's actually gotten to being gone for good.

So, will this come into effect in the later chapters? Donno:), I'll build that bridge when I come to it.

Next Week: Legacy

*CL*

T.J. - Blue In Space Ranger

Leo – Red Galaxy Ranger

Tideus – Yellow Alien Ranger

Will – Black Overdrive Ranger

Dana – Pink Lightspeed Ranger

R.J. – Violet Wolf Ranger

Bulk – side character/comic relief Mighty Morphin

Skull - side character/comic relief Mighty Morphin


	15. Chapter 15: Legacy

Chapter 15 – Legacy

Arthur checked on his sister and parents, they were fast asleep. So deeply that he was worried they wouldn't wake up. After checking over them a few times, the Mystic Mother assured him that they would wake with the sun in a few hours, she seemed to think it was a spell of some kind. But when he asked her if she knew how had done it, she simply shook her head and left. He'd tucked his family in their beds and closed their doors.

The Rangers, after hearing about his epic battle, had insisted on helping him dismantle his now unnecessary security system that would get him in trouble when his parents woke up.

Right now, he didn't know whether to be creeped out or amazed by the sight of so many small plastic figures crawling around his house. They were grouped by teams and, after pulling up a chair to sit and watch, he started naming them off.

"Power Rangers: RPM." At the top of the stairs, Summer, Ranger Series Yellow, was trying to untie a knot as big as she was while Scott and Flynn, Ranger Series Red and Blue waved, using a small piece of broken glass, cut the string nearby; Ziggy, Ranger Series Green was swinging from a piece of string, grinning while Dillon, Ranger Series Black, desperately tried to keep him from flying off the edge when he swung too far; Gem and Gemma, Ranger Series Gold and Silver, had found a pair of paperclips and were sword fighting. Dr. K. was directing the efforts, desperately hiding a smile after Ziggy swung into one of the poles on the banister.

"Hey," Arthur called up to them. Their work stopped. He blushed, embarrassed, "Could you…do your morphing call? Please?"

The group of Rangers looked to Scott, who nodded. Then, as one, they called out, "RPM, Get in Gear!"

Arthur grinned.

"Power Rangers: Jungle Fury." Casey, the Red Tiger Ranger; Lily, the Yellow Cheetah Ranger and Theo, the Blue Jaguar Ranger were attacking a intricate web of string. R.J, the Violet Wolf Ranger helping Master Finn, Swoop and Phant, the Shark, Bat and Elephant Rangers and the other four Masters, Mao, Rilla, Guin and Lope, pull the Snake Lady out of Arthurs room. They gathered some of the left over string and started tying her up. Dom, the White Rhino Ranger, tied as complex a knot as he could. Jarod and Camilla, the Lion and Chameleon Rangers, leapt up and easily untied it. Together, they tied a not so complex that it looked like a mess of string. No one could untie that. When they noticed Arthur watching them, the group of Rangers looked to Casey, who nodded. Then, as one, they called out, "Jungle Beast, Spirit Unleashed!"

"Power Rangers: Operation Overdrive." Mack, the Red Overdrive Ranger, and Will, the Black Overdrive Ranger were standing shoulder to shoulder while Dax, the Blue Overdrive Ranger used them as a ladder and was untying a string at the top of the railing but he wasn't tall enough and tried to jump. He missed and landed with a thud on the floor. Ronny and Rose, the Yellow and Pink Overdrive Rangers giggled, as he staggered to his feet. Tyzonn, the Mercury Ranger laughed loudly when Dax, still dazed, stumbled into the wall. Feeling pity for the poor Ranger, the Sentinel Knight, still trapped by his armor, helped steer Dax away from the edge of the stairs. Once Dax regained his land legs, the group of Rangers looked to Mack, who nodded. Then, as one, they called out, "Overdrive, Accelerate!"

"Power Rangers: Mystic Force." Chip, the Yellow Mystic Ranger, Vida, the Pink Mystic Ranger, and Madison, the Blue Mystic Ranger, were working together to try and tear apart the treads of a particularly stubborn knot. Nick, the Red Mystic Ranger, amusing himself, tossed a ball of fire between his hands then gently threw it in the air, where it exploded like a brilliant but silent firework. Xander, the Green Mystic Ranger, shook his head, calling his attempt pathetic. He rubbed his hands together, getting ready to call upon the forces of everything green and growing, when Udonna, the White Mystic Ranger, put a gentle hand on his, freezing them together. She reminded him that this was neither the time nor the place. Clair, the Moon Knight, chuckled at the sight. The Mystic Mother, jumping down the two stairs with very little dignity, smiled alongside Udonna but her smile was more disconcerting than comforting. The group of Rangers looked to Nick, who nodded. Then, as one, they called out, "Magical Source, Mystic Force!"

"Power Rangers: S.P.D." Bridge, S.P.D. Green Ranger, smiled happily while helping Sky and Jack, S.P.D. Blue and S.P.D. Red Rangers, carry packages of duct tape up the stairs. Z, Syd and Kat, the S.P.D. Yellow Ranger, S.P.D. Pink Ranger and orange colored S.P.D Kat Ranger, followed the other three carrying . Sam and Nova, the S.P.D. Omega and …Nova…Rangers along with Doogie, S.P.D. Shadow Ranger had found a few pairs of finger clippers and were distributing them among the teams. The group of Rangers looked to Jack, who nodded. Then, as one, they called out, "SPD Emergency!"

"Power Rangers: Dino Thunder." Conner, Ethan, Kira and Trent, the Red Dino Thunder, Blue Dino Thunder, Yellow Dino Thunder and White Dino Thunder Rangers, all stopped what they were doing and waved. Tommy, Black Dino Thunder Ranger, who they had been holding on to so he didn't fall over the edge of the stairs, stumbled and started to fall. He just grasped the edge of a loose piece of string and swung to the next lower step. He glared at the four younger Rangers. The group of Rangers looked to Conner, who glanced at Tommy, who nodded. Then, as one, they called out, "Dino Thunder, Power Up!"

"Power Rangers: Ninja Storm." Dustin and Shane, the Yellow Wind and Red Wind Rangers, were balling up untied and loose string. Tori and Blake, the Blue Wind and Navy Thunder Rangers, took the balled string and tossed it to Hunter and Cam, Crimson Thunder and Green Samurai Rangers, who tossed it up to their mentor, the now plastic hamster, Sensei Kanoi, who rolled it over to the Jungle Fury Rangers. The group of Rangers looked to Shane, who nodded. Then, as one, Shane, Dustin and Tori called out, "Ninja Storm, Ranger Form!" At the same time Blake and Hunter called out, "Thunder Storm, Ranger Form!" Cam joined in with his own call, "Samurai Storm, Ranger Form!"

"Power Rangers: Wild Force." At the top of the full of action stair case, Merrick, the Lunar Wolf Ranger, leaped into the air and landed on the top of the inner handrail. Max, Blue Shark Ranger, sprung up the opposite one. Down near the bottom, Princess Shayla dropped a piece of cloth and the two Rangers sped down the smooth surfaces. On the way they had to leap over any still tied string and assorted objects that other Rangers threw at them. Taylor and Cole, the Yellow Eagle and Red Lion Rangers, cheered the pair as they reached the half way point. Danny and Alyssa, the Black Bison and White Tiger Rangers, dedicated themselves to knocking the two surfing Rangers off. But they failed and as they reached the very edge, Cole cried out, "Ready?" The two landed and at that same moment, the team, as one, called out, "Wild Access!"

"Power Rangers: Time Force." Jen and Wes, Time Force Pink and Time Force Red, were at the bottom of the stairs. They were collecting the pieces of tape that Arthur had used to keep the string up. Alex, the previous Time Force Red, peeled the tape from the wall and, scowling, handed it off to Lucas, Trip and Katie, Time Force Blue, Time Force Green and Time Force Yellow, who added it to the growing ball of used tape. Eric, the Quantam Ranger, took one of the completed balls and threw it to the top of the stairs. The group of Rangers looked to Wes, who looked at Jen, who grinned. Then, as one, they called out, "Time for…Time Force!"

"Power Rangers: Lightspeed Rescue." Joel, Lightspeed Green, and Dana, Lightspeed Pink, were standing on the top of the little table in the hallway. They helped pull Carter and Kelsey, Lightspeed Red and Lightspeed Yellow, over the top. The four Rangers started straightening up the objects, a few pictures and knickknacks under the direction of Chad and Ryan, Lightspeed Blue and the Titanium Ranger, who were standing on the ground making sure everything was straight and where it should be. When the group of Rangers realized it was their turn, they looked to Carter, who nodded. Then, as one, they called out, "Lightspeed Rescue!"

"Power Rangers: Lost Galaxy." Damon, the Green Galaxy Ranger, Kai, the Blue Galaxy Ranger and Maya, the Yellow Galaxy Ranger, were tackling the web of string that stretched across the space between the stairs and the front door. Kai and Damon would stand, hands clasped and squatted down while Maya stood on their hands. They would then toss Maya high into the air where she would grab onto a string. Kendrix, the first Pink Galaxy Ranger, would toss Maya a hooked paper clip carrying a sharpened pen cap which Maya used to painstakingly saw the string apart. As she fell Leo, the Red Galaxy Ranger and Mike, the Magna Defender, would position themselves below her and catch her. They set Maya down and group of Rangers looked to Leo, who nodded. Then, as one, they called out, "Go! Galactic!"

"Power Rangers In Space." In order to actually see them, Arthur had to lean out of his chair since they were in the hallway beside the stairs. Andros and Ashley, the Red and Yellow Space Rangers, had taken Arthur's only pair of scissors and were cutting through the last few strings on that side. T.J., the Blue Space Ranger, was gathering all the string that had piled on the floor and was passing it to Carlos and Zhane, the Black and Silver Space Rangers. They took turns balling it up and seeing how high up the stairs they could throw it. Zhane won by throwing it six stairs up but it fell apart and tumbled back down. Cassie, the Pink Space Ranger, rolled her eyes and tossed the string she had painstakingly rolled up and tossed it half way up the stairs. Snickering at the looks of hurt pride on Carlos and Zhane's faces, the group of Rangers looked to Andros who nodded. Then, as one, they called out, "Let's Rocket!"

"Power Rangers: Turbo." Even further down the hall, the Turbo Rangers had arranged themselves by pairs of colors. Standing on yet another table, Tommy and T.J, Turbo Red I and Turbo Red II were standing on the shoulders of Adam and Carlos, Trubo Green I and Turbo Green II who stood precariously on the still masked Phantom Ranger and the Blue Senturion's shoulders. Katherine and Cassie, Turbo Pink I and Turbo Pink II, tossed them a small picture that had fallen off the wall. Tanya and Ashley, Turbo Yellow I and Turbo Yellow II, stood on opposite sides and made sure that it was hung on straight. At the back, all by himself, the littlest Ranger, could hardly stand still. Justin, Turbo Blue, jumped up and down excitedly, shouting encouragements as the guys kept having to readjust the picture. Dimitria smiled, watching the scene with amusement. Having finally straightened everything to the two Yellow's approval, the Tower of Rangers jumped apart. The group of Rangers looked to Tommy and T.J., who both nodded. Then as one, they called out, "Shift into Turbo!"

"Power Rangers: Zeo." Kat, Zeo Ranger I, Pink, and Tommy, Zeo Ranger V, Red, were wiping up the water from the two flower vases that had fallen off the hall table. Tanya, Zeo Ranger II, Yellow, Rocky, Zeo Ranger III, Blue, and Adam, Zeo Ranger IV, Green, were picking up the many pieces of glass, being sure to find every last one. Tray and Jason, the pair of Golden Rangers, piling up the flowers to be disposed of later. The group of Rangers looked to Tommy, who nodded. Then, as one, they called out, "Power Rangers Zeo!"

"Might Morphin' Alien Rangers." Delphine, White Aquitian Ranger, were working on unscrewing the screws holding the light switch cover on to the wall next to the front door. After a few minutes work, the screws fell out. Corcus, Black Aquitian Ranger and Cestro, Blue Aquitian Ranger, took over, climbing up to join the her. The threesome pulled wires from the wall, ignoring the small sparks that happened to be as large as their head. Tideus, Yellow Aquitian Ranger, and Aurico, Red Aquitian Ranger, jumped up. Three Rangers crawled through the hole and began to rewire the entire setup. Lights flickered on and off in the hall until Delphine reminded the group that they had to leave the house sitting on the ground, in one piece. Finally, the wiring was fixed and every light in the house sprang into life. The group leapt down and looked to Delphine, who nodded. Then, as one, they called out, "It's Morphin time!"

"Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, seasons two and three." Adam, the Black Ranger and Kat, the Pink Ranger, stood one of the two windows next to the front door. They called out what they saw to Aisha, the Yellow Ranger, who was also taking reports from Rocky and Tommy, the Red Ranger and White Rangers, about what they saw outside their window. There was some kind of flash of light that would appear and vanish every few seconds. When they had first spotted it, it had occurred rapidly but it seemed to be slowing.

"Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, season one." Kimberly, the Pink Ranger, and Zack, the Black Ranger, helped to reset the two wall clocks in the front. All of the clocks in the house had somehow been set forward by two hours. Nobody knew why or how. Tommy, the Green Ranger, took care of small one on the hall table. Jason, the Red Ranger, Trini, the Yellow Ranger and Billy, the Blue Range were attempting to convince Bulk and Skull not to turn on the TV. Zordon gazed serenely at the entire scene, at all the Rangers, and smiled. Eventually, after a fair amount of time, the three separate seasons of Mighty Morphin Rangers finally regrouped and exchanged glances. Jason and White Tommy stepped forward and nodded. Then, as one, the group called out, "It's Morphin' time!"

Staring down at 114 Power Rangers, their two friends and 11 mentors, decades, centuries, millennia's worth of heroes, there was only one thing Arthur could say, "Wow."

* * *

Most of the villains watched this scene with a mixture of contempt and disgust. They weren't used to being so completely ignored.

Rita turned to Lord Zedd, "You know, I'm beginning to think they don't think that we're important anymore!"

"And after we stole all their stuff too," Lord Zedd agreed. "They didn't even notice!"

"I don't like being ignored," Trakeena complained. "I don't like being treated like that string is more important than I am."

"We'll have to do something more…," said Ransik said. The group glanced behind them, where the rest of the villains stood. They had been kicked out from under the bed by those they feared. "But later. We don't want to disturb them."

The others nodded solemnly.

* * *

Back in the Command Center, abandoned by the Rangers in their excitement and haste and left guarded by a lone Ranger who had been easy to dispose of, a group of shadows moved quickly through the empty rooms. In front of them lay the only room in the Ranger City that was locked protected by the only door made from painfully acquired pieces of metal whose key was given to only a select few even among the Rangers.

"Pathetic."

"Is it open yet?"

"Why couldn't they have just made it out of cardboard? Everything else here is."

"Patience Charlie," a metallic voice intoned, the red light on his column blinking in time with his words, "The best plans require patience."

"Oh please," the rogue Red Ranger answered scornfully, "your tactics were willfully stupid! You had the end of the world at your … fingertips… and you can't even wipe out humanity!"

"Quit bickering," Astronema commanded sharply. "Are we almost through big brother?"

Psycho Red nodded and stood, holding up a tiny sparkling key, "Your good half really came through. We never would have gotten in here without this." He pulled the door open and waved her inside, "After you."

Ecliptor tugged on the cart moving Venjix's column and pulled it inside. The rest of the Psycho Rangers and A-Squad kept watch at the door outside.

"I think this will do," Charlie said, grinning widely. "Yes, I think this will do nicely."

* * *

*AN*

This chapter was insanely hard to write. You'd think it was the easiest one…but it wasn't. Naming all the Rangers and most of their mentors and finding them something to do was not a simple task. There's _a lot_ of them.

By the way, quick break down:

RPM: 7 Rangers and 1Mentor

Jungle Fury: 9 Rangers and 4 Mentors

Operation Overdrive: 6 Rangers and 1 Mentor

Mystic Force: 7 Rangers and 1Mentor

SPD: 9 Rangers

Dino Thunder: 5 Rangers

Ninja Storm: 6 Rangers and 1 Mentor

Wild Force: 6 Rangers and 1Mentor

Time Force: 7 Rangers

Lightspeed Rescue: 6 Rangers

Lost Galaxy: 6 Rangers

In Space: 6 Rangers

Turbo: 11 Rangers and 1 Mentor

Zeo: 7 Rangers

Alien: 5 Rangers (Yes, I'm counting it as its own season even though it's technically part of Mighty Morphin' Season Three and could be part of Zeo. Because it might as well be."

Mighty Morphin: 11 Rangers, 1 Mentor and 2 Friends

Grand total(So far): 18 seasons, 112 Rangers, 11 mentors and two extras.

Aaaaaaand assorted villains throughout.

Whooo! ….like I said, lots and lots and lots of people.

*CL*

Almost all of them


	16. Chapter 16: Surprise

Chapter 16 – Surprise

Arthur sat in school, fuming. Why did he have to be here? This morning, when the sun rose, that creepy snake thing had shrunk to the same size as the action figures. She screamed and ranted at them but they had easily overpowered her and tied her up using the same string that was supposed to have stopped her.

The Rangers had promised to tell him what she said if she started talking.

But it he had real live Power Rangers back in his room and. He. Was. Stuck. In. Math! It just wasn't fair! He must have muttered this last bit out loud because his terrifying math teacher, , turned from the chalkboard. He wilted in his chair at the look on her face.

"Mr. Jones…is there something you would like to add?" She gestured at the algebra equation on the board, "Perhaps you were so overwhelmed with the knowledge of this answer that you couldn't wait to share?" The rest of the kids in the class tittered.

"It's seven," a voice whispered.

He looked down at his desk and saw a small green haired head peak out of his pencil bag. He didn't have time figure it out for himself, Mrs. Applebees's face was growing darker. "Ummm… seven?"

Mrs. Applebee was silent for a second then nodded sharply, "Good." She pointed at him with her chalk, "But start taking notes anyway, this will be on the test." Then she turned back to the board and started droning on again.

Arthur picked up his pen and pretended to be copying what was being written on the board, leaning his head close to his notebook. "How did you know that," he whispered as quietly as he could.

Trip shrugged, "I'm good at math."

"What are you doing here?"

"I got bored."

He started wiggling out of the bag but Arthur pushed him back in with a finger, "No. Stay hidden."

"Why?"

"Because if people knew I'd brought a toy to school, they'd never let me live it down."

"Ok…ok." He pulled his head back inside, "But pull me back out at lunch." His muffled voice floated through the opening, "And bring me food! Bring me fooood! Bring me foooooood!"

Arthur quickly zipped the bag.

* * *

"What is this," Xander asked angrily, "the third time he's done this?" He and the other Rangers with him were searching through piles of forgotten homework that were scattered under Arthur's desk. Most of the Rangers were out searching for Trip, nobody want the poor kid to fall down into the furnace.

"Fifth," Trent growled, tossing aside an uncompleted History assignment. "And every time, it's like trying to find a five year old."

"Give him a break," said Katie, "he lost more than most of us. His morpher, his gloves and boots _and_ his Electro Booster! He's still trying to adjust to having almost half of his memories and personality missing. Not to mention cold feet. Have you _seen_ what he's using as shoes?"

"Well," Taylor said with a shrug, "at least it gives us something else to do. I don't know about you guys, but I hate having to clean up after a monster attack. Rebuilding and interrogating was never my strong point."

"Well," Trent said, "at least Arthur's at school. It would be worse to have a lumbering little kid getting in our way."

"Yeah, but Arthur could also help us search faster," Katie pointed out.

"True."

Carter stopped ahead of them, a look of pure horror on his face, as he turned to them. "I think I just realized something."

"With a look like that, it's most likely not good," Xander sighed. "…well?"

"I think Trip went school with Arthur!"

"Why would you say that!" Their looks of horror now matched his. What if Trip lost his mind even more and people discovered that there was a walking talking, living plastic toy…well, they weren't sure, but they knew it wouldn't be good. None of them wanted to end up on a mad scientists autopsy table.

"I was on my way to the Command Center to meet up with Jack and I remember hearing a small snippet of a conversation. It was definitely Trip's voice although I didn't recognize the other one. It was something about a game of hide and seek and how Arthur's backpack would be the perfect hiding place."

"So, why didn't the person who was talking with him come forward?"

Katie grabbed Carter and shook him violently, yelling loudly at him, "It was! one of! the villains! I knew! they were up to something!"

Xander carefully separated the pair before Carter got whiplash. "Carter," he asked gently, "would you happen to remember anything about what this mysterious person sounded like?" Then he grabbed him by his collar and held him high in the air, "Because I'm not going to be somebody's lab rat!"

"I don't know, I don't know! I only heard a second or two!"

Trent walked to Xander and tugged on his elbow, "That's enough."

With a shake, Xander dropped Carter, "Wonderful, Trip's wandering around in the world with a kid and we don't even know which of our villains did it."

Katie rubbed her hands together gleefully, "Does this mean we get to go shake down some villains? 'Cause they've had it too easy lately."

"Why yes," Xander replied as he twirled on the spot and started to return their hideout under the bed, "I believe it does."

* * *

Arthur set his lunchbox on the picnic table in the shade of a tree, sitting far away from the other kids. He pulled Trip out and set him on the table. Trip looked up at him, "I hate being small, it's like being a little kid again. But I'm also made of plastic so it's worse!"

"Tell me about it."

"The plastic part or the small part?"

"Hey, Arthur!" A pair of boys ran over to them. Arthur frantically tried to shove Trip into his lunchbox but one of boys spotted him. "Is that a Power Ranger?"

"Stay still," Arthur hissed. Trip froze. He raised his voice, "He..hey Harry. Hi Max." It just had to be Harry and Max, two of the most popular boys in his grade. Harry's father was the best lawyer in town, he had money and Harry had the instant cool credit that came with it. Max, on the other hand, had a mother who was the school's principal and a father who ran a diner downtown. His cool factor came from the fact that he could kick a soccer ball faster than the speed of sound and outrun light if he felt like it.

Harry pulled Trip, playing possum, out of Arthur's hand and looked at him, "Time Force huh?" He grinned then reached into his backpack and pulled out a eerily familiar red suited action figure, "I prefer SPD myself."

Max pulled another, blue colored, figure out of his pocket, "Operation Overdrive."

"You guys…like Power Rangers too?" Arthur tried to keep his relief from showing. For a few, brief, seconds there he'd been imagining how hard it would be to convince his mother to let him change schools.

"Yup," Harry said, "I even went back and watched all the old ones when I got bored over the summer." He waved Trip in the air, "This little guy was one of my favorites though. I always wanted green hair." Then he started taking a closer look at the tiny figure, "Hmm…this one's really good. I don't think I've ever seen one with more detail." He poked Trip on the head, "It's even got the right colored dot on his head. That's unusual." He handed him back to Arthur, "Where did you get him?"

For the briefest of seconds Arthur, wanting to impress these guy on the top of the food chain, considered telling them about how the Ranger in his hand was not just an action figure, but the real live Trip himself. But the other Rangers had warned him against doing this. They were afraid of the grown-ups finding out that they could walk and talk. So until someone could figure out who had done this or how to reverse it, they would rather stay hidden. Although from what he had heard, most of the Rangers weren't happy about this, they weren't used to hiding while the evil ones ran free. It just went against everything they fought for. But Zordon had urged patience and the Rangers, while grumbling, had listened. Keeping all this in line, it was still difficult for Arthur to simply say, "The internet." He just wanted to brag!

Harry shrugged, "Ok." He paused for a second then shrugged, "Hey, do you want to come over after school? Max and I need a third player for Super Fighters of Death Combat IV."

* * *

Arthur called his mother on the office's phone.

His mother sighed, "Arthur, please tell me you didn't forget your underwear again."

Arthur blushed, "No! It's just that I made some new friends."

His mother was silent for a second, "Ok…good honey! But this couldn't have waited until you got home…because?"

"Well, they want me to come over to Harry's house and play after school. Can I," he begged. "Please, please, please?" He heard his mother smother a laugh, "Mom!"

"Sorry. Well, if their mother's say it's ok, it's fine with me. Give me their phone numbers and I'll call them to see how much it'll cost me to take you off my hands for a few hours."

"Mom!"

"Oh calm down Arthur." His mother laughed again.

Ears burning and glad that the two other boys couldn't hear the other side of the conversation, he muttered a few words to them and then repeated the strings of numbers that they offered. His mother repeated them back then promised to call them and check.

"Call me back before school ends and I'll let you know," she said.

" 'K."

"Love you honey."

Arthur murmured something and quickly hung up. He fumed for a few seconds turn turned to his new friends, "She said she'd call."

"Awesome!"

The Tommy Brigade Headquarters, the Command Center, the Juice Bar, the Mighty Morphin Mansion, the Rangers were fond of nicknames. They called their unknown foe the Enemy, their situation the Temporary Roadblock and the dimension they found themselves in the Show World. So it was little surprise that they also had a nickname for the small cardboard hole in the wall that their assorted villains hung out at. They called it the Flower Garden.

So the five Rangers gathered about a dozen more and surrounded the Flower Garden.

"We know," Xander yelled, "that one of you…lovely flowers… in there suggested to a very confused and gullible Trip to sneak to school with Arthur. Tell us, _please_, who was it?"

After a few silent seconds, a lone voice called out to them, "We didn't do it. Go away!"

Trent steeped forward, "Queen Bansheera, tell us who it was!"

"It wasn't us!"

"It wasn't us, who?"

"It wasn't any of us in here!"

"Then who was it?"

They could hear the sounds of an argument going on inside the building. Then they heard a loud shout and Norg came flying out the 'door' followed by a furious Lothor.

Lothor towered over a cowering Norg. "They said they'd kill us if we told," he yelled. "We can't tell the Rangers anything about how the Psycho Rangers teamed up with the SPD A-Squad, Astronema, Venjix and Ecliptor and escaped from their cells! They must never know that they tricked that little green freak into going and hiding in Arthurs backpack so that the Rangers would waste their time looking for him and they could get far away! The Rangers must never find out that they broke into the secret room in the Command Center. They can know none of that you _pathetic_ _coward!_"

Norg coughed, "Um…Lothor…"

Lothor blinked and finally looked up. He blinked again, "…nobody heard that…"

* * *

The sudden burst of light almost blinded Trip. It seemed like hours like he'd last seen it. He just barely remembered to keep still. Arthur didn't want people to know about them. Or did he say he did want people to know about them? He frowned. He wished his memory didn't feel like it was Swiss Cheese. He wished he could remember what he did this morning. He wished his moods didn't swing like a monkey in the jungle.

Arthur set him down on the table next to the unmoving figures of the Red SPD Ranger and Blue Operation Overdrive Ranger. He smiled at them but they didn't smile back. He wondered if they were still 'acting'.

Taking care not to move very much, he looked around the room. It was better to try and stay hidden, he decided, until Arthur told him not to. They must be in one of the other kids house. From the twenty or so pictures scattered around the room, Trip guessed it was most likely that Harry kid. And it turned out that he wasn't a fan of only Power Rangers, he was a fan of everything. The dozen or so movie posters covering his walls depicted damaged robots fighting robots, a robed wizard casting frightening spells, soldiers firing at unseen enemies, standard posters for a boy of Harry's age. Weren't they?

But what was even more impressive was the sheer number of action figures that took up every inch of shelving on the far wall. Trip stretched his fractured memories of early 21st century culture and was able to identify some of them. He found some humor in that, he couldn't remember what his parents looked like, but he could sure remember that the three guys in white sitting on the same table as him were known in this time as the Ghostbusters. Terminator action figures adorned the top row joined by an variety of Power Ranger action figures, Family Guy dolls. A rare collection of Stargate SG1 figurines, a complete gathering of the Firefly crew fought with an assortment of Doctor Who characters for space on the next two rows. There were countless more from shows he had never heard of before and even a few from various anime that had been popular in this time. But there were hundreds and hundreds of them. Just sitting there.

Arthur seemed equally impressed, he expressed this by jumping up and down and pointing to the ones he recognized. Harry was eventually able to calm him down and Max suggested they go and play some of Harry's numerous video games. Arthur agreed and the trio left the room.

The instant the door closed, Trip let his arms fall to his side and sat down with a thud. "I'm so tired of having to stand still."

"Tell me about it," Peter Venkman complained, dropping the heavy particle accelerator and rolling his shoulders. "It's good he's finding friends 'cause I swear that kid sometimes spends entire _days_ in here!"

All around the room, action figures sprang to life. But not all of them starting walking and talking. The other Rangers stayed immobile as did all but one the Terminator figures and half of the other toys on the shelves. The ones who did move, however, did so with gusto.

Peter from Family Guy started making fun of the lone Terminator, while his wife frantically tried to get him to stop. The Doctor Who and SG1 characters mixed together and an argument broke out between O'Neill and the Ninth Doctor. The collection of Digimon characters leapt from the high shelf, landed on the ground and walked, completely unharmed towards the table. The Ghostbusters waved and yelled at them, reminding them that the boys could be back anytime. The Digimon gang yelled something back but dutifully turned back and started painstakingly climbing the shelves.

Startled and overwhelmed, Trip leapt to his feet, "Wha…what?"

* * *

*AN*

…hehe…Surprise!

*AN2*

No, I will not be getting too deeply into all the paths that cross here. I'm just going to scratch the surface and move on. There are many stories here to be told but I am not the one to tell them. Most likely. This is a Power Rangers fic and to the best of my ability, it will stay that way. As much as possible. Really. But I thought this was a fun idea, a cool little what if. And it does have a point to the plot. ;)

*CL*

Trip – Green Time Ranger

Xander – Green Mystic Ranger

Trent – White Dino Thunder Ranger

Katie – Yellow Time Force Ranger

Taylor – Yellow Wild Force Ranger

Carter – Red Lightspeed

Queen Bansheera – Lightspeed villain

Norg – Operation Overdrive villain

Lothor - Ninja Storm villain


	17. Chapter 17: Accidental Addition

Chapter 17 – Accidental Addition

Arthur, Max and Harry fell through the air, yelling and screaming, identical looks of sheer terror stretching their faces. They landed with a laugh in a pile of leaves.

"Can we do it again," Max asked eagerly.

"Of course!"

The trio scrambled back up the ladder and stood on the edge of the roof, feet hanging out over the edge.

"Ready," Harry asked, leaning forward.

"Harry James Adams, you and your friends get down from there right now!"

They looked down and saw Harry's mother, Abigail, glaring up at them. Harry gulped.

When they didn't move fast enough, Abigail leaned forward and her face darkened noticeably, "_Now._"

Harry ran down the ladder so fast, Arthur thought he could smell the ladder burning. He and Max followed much slower. But they didn't exactly dawdle either.

On the ground Abigail was letting her son know just how stupid his actions were and when Arthur and Max timidly walked over, she turned her sharp tongue on them, "Just how brainless are you three! You could have been killed!"

"We were just jumping into the leaves," Harry mumbled.

Her eyes narrowed dangerously, "Inside."

Arthur spent the next twenty minutes getting a safety lecture on how leaves can carry diseases and the dangers of climbing ladders. Luckily, he was able to excuse himself to the bathroom and bolted upstairs to the obvious envy of the other two boys. He threw the door the Harry's room, ready to grab Trip and call his mom to come pick him up early. He definitely didn't want to sit here for another two hours and get a lecture. He got plenty of those at school.

He paused as he saw the scores of action figures that weren't Power Rangers running around in the room. With a grunt, he lost all feeling in his legs and collapsed to the floor.

Trip ran up to him smiling, arms stretched wide, "Isn't it awesome? There're more people like us!"

Arthur sighed and hid his head in his hands, "Sure Trip, it's just peachy. Got any other surprises?"

"No, should I go look for some?"

* * *

They were gone. The rebellious A-Squad, the terrifying Psycho Rangers, Astronema and the ever loyal Ecliptor. Even the immobile yet domineering Venjix in his steel column had found some way to vanish. Also missing was Karone, Astronema in later life after she had turned from evil to good. Andros was beyond inconsolable, he hadn't slept since they found out. But even worse than the idea of a captive Ranger, what sent a shiver of fear down the spines of the normally fearless Rangers, was that Zordon was scared. No one had ever seen Zordon act so obviously afraid. When Rita was a hairs breath away from victory, he calmly reminded the Rangers that they had to power to defeat her. When the Command Center was destroyed, he had already prepared the next base and all the equipment they needed. When he was captured and the only way to stop the coalition of evil was for him to die, he had remained confident that the Rangers would triumph in the end and allowed his death to come with nothing more than a calm smile. But now, his pale face was drawn and haggard looking. He spoke without his usual tone of assurance. His eyes darted from side to side as if expecting everything in front of him to vanish or attack. It was eerie.

And the reason for Zordon's discomfort, was the only object they had taken with them, stolen from behind the only locked door. The Sword of Light, the mystical sword that could be used to copy or transfer the powers of one Ranger to someone else, had been stolen. It was a very powerful object, easily the most powerful in all of their arsenal. And now it was in the hands of some of the most dangerous villains known to Rangerkind.

The situation had, in one slip of attention, gone from worrisome and confusing to dangerous and terrifying. But Zordon knew it that as bad as things were, if anyone ever discovered the true power of the Sword of Light, everything would come to an end. And so he kept his silence and with it the terrible secret.

* * *

"Should we be worried," Kimberly asked. "Because I'm getting worried. Zordon is… _scared_."

Adam, the Green Turbo version, shook his head, "I'm not sure what to think anymore. You'd think after a few years of fighting monsters and witches, you'd get used to all this. But you really don't. I'm still shocked every time a monster grows from large to building-sized."

Some of the Rangers had split up into groups and were searching for the missing villains. They were going trough everywhere and everything. But no one was optimistic that they would find anything. They wouldn't have moved now, after so long of waiting, if they didn't have a plan and somewhere safe to hide.

Despite all this excitement, Kimberly, Adam, Syd and Tyzonn had the boring duty of guarding the snake lady, now in miniature form. For the first few hours of her captivity, she had spat hatred at them, promising retribution and demanding to be set free. Now, she just glared. They were fine with this. Most of them were already exhausted, having fought a monster or two, exposed their existence to a young boy who would most likely accidently reveal their secret to the world and were also worried about the most unique and mysterious weapons in the Ranger arsenal. They didn't want to add insane minion of an unknown enemy yelling at them to it as well.

Tyzonn leaned back against the bedpost, "This was always the hardest part for me, the waiting. I could fight for days but waiting for the hammer to fall…is painful."

"Syd?"

The pink suited Ranger glanced at the small figure sitting tied up beside them, "She's still glaring death and daggers." The snake lady hissed but Syd only laughed, "And is as hateful as ever."

"My name is Hissta," the snake lady growled. "And you will treat me with respect!"

"Why," Adam asked.

"Why what?"

"Why should we treat you with respect. I mean, you tried to attack not one but _two_ kids. That makes us want to smash your face in, not call you ma'am."

"I had no intention of harming the girl," Hissta admitted. "I was simply here to retrieve some…samples. I entered in the wrong room."

"What do you mean, samples?"

Hissta shook her head, "I'm not saying anymore!"

Kimberly moved between Adam and Hissta. She smiled warmly, "…Hissta, was it?"

The snake nodded warily.

Kimberly's smile widened, "I _love_ your hair!"

* * *

Kimberly, using her impressive girl skills, soon had Hissta talking about everything from how hard it was to keep bugs out of your hair to how the snake lady was only two days old.

"They made me to come and collect some of you but it took almost a day for the machine to recharge enough to shove me through to this world. So I'm a day older than I should be."

"Who made you?"

"She'll kill me," the creepy snake whispered, obviously scared. "I wasn't supposed to get caught."

Kimberly nodded in understanding but pressed the question. "Who?"

"No! You don't understand!" Hissta began to thrash against the string keeping her from moving, her eyes were wide with fear. "She'll kill me, won't even pause to do it! I don't want to die!"

Tyzonn leaned over, "We won't let them hurt you Hissta. I mean, protecting people is our job. But we can't promise that if we're all turned back into immobile plastic. Please, tell us what the Power is going on."

Hissta looked between Kimberly and Tyzonn then bowed her head, "I've only been alive for forty-eight hours so I honestly don't know that much. But…I'll tell you what I can."

"What's the first thing you remember," Adam asked softly.

"Light," Hissta said, staring at nothing. "An unbelievably bright light, a light that never lessened for a second while I was there. Then a shadow." Hista shivered, "It was a woman, I think, from her voice. She gave me a name and told me what my purpose was. It was a simple job, she had said, her voice full of scorn. I would be sent to a strange world, there would be these small dolls there. I was to bring a few specific ones them back and that was it. She never said what would happen to me once I got back but I'm not all that sure I was to survive accomplishing my goal. Most importantly, and she stressed this a lot, I was to stay hidden. No one was to see me or realize that I'd even been there at all.

"I spent the next day working with the small magic's I was granted; the power to cause people to sleep, the ability to summon darkness, how to call for the one way portal back to that ever bright place. Once the woman was convinced I could accomplish the mission up to her specifications, she had me sit in a room, just as white and bright as the rest of the complex. For over a day I sat in that tiny room, a closet really, with the voice of the woman drifting through the venting grates, talking about you Rangers. She seemed to hold a high opinion of you all. Finally, just as I began to think my purpose had somehow passed me by, the door to the room opened and the shadow directed me to stand at a certain point. Then she brought another creature in, one that had apparently failed on some mission. She said his name was Fishton.

She shivered, "The machine that was used to transport me to this dimension… it can do other things too. Poor Fishton. She sent him into the large black hole that powered her machine. I had to watch as this other creature, maybe even my brother, was torn into pieces by its gravitational pull. When the vision finally went faded, she reminded me of my goal, and the consequences if I failed her, there was a flash, and I appeared in the hall outside the small girls room."

The Rangers sat silent for a few seconds, digesting her tale. Syd decided to ask a follow up question, "Did she ever say why she was doing all this? Why take us all and move us here? Why turn us into _action figures?_"

Hissta shook her head, "No."

"When you say she talked about us," Tyzonn asked, "what do you mean?"

"She seemed to know a lot about you, talked about specific points in your lives. I didn't see or hear anyone else but I think she was talking to someone. Every once in awhile, she would answer a question that I didn't hear asked. Either that or she was insane."

"Most likely it's both," Syd muttered.

"Is there anything else you can tell us," Kimberly asked. "Anything at all?"

Hissta hesitated but she had already gone this far, she was already dead if that woman found her again. She might as well help these people who were being so nice to her, "I haven't called the portal back to that place. I still have the power to send you to that place."

* * *

Trip played happily with the Scooby-Doo gang, trading stories of the various monsters they'd fought, acting out the climatic battles. Or, in the gang's case, climatic unmasking.

"And they all turned to be people in masks. Every last one." Fred shook his head, "Just once I'd have loved to find a _real_ monster."

"I donno Fred," Trip said, "I've seen monsters. They're not fun." He sighed, "I wish they'd all turned out to be people in masks." He pondered that for a second, "Actually, they kind of were, I guess. Mutants are people, they just look different. So they're people…in masks."

Shaggy, "But like, didn't your monsters actually try and, like, kill people? The worse ours did was, like, scare off some tourists."

"No," Velma reminded him, "They tried to kill us on numerous occasions Shaggy. I remember one time where we were scuba diving and they tried to trap us in a sunken ship. Or time where the octopus tried to eat us. Or the sharks. And that was just from one case!"

Trip loved the show Scooby-Doo, it was one of his favorite ancient shows. Scooby-Doo himself was noticeably absent. Whatever had taken them from their own times and shows hadn't taken him with the rest of his gang. They were frantically worried about him. But no one talked about those who were missing in this kids room. They didn't want to voice their fears of what might have happened to them.

The door opened and the Scooby gang froze. Trip dove to hide behind them as best he could.

Arthur peeked in, "It's just me."

The entire room relaxed.

Arthur walked over, "Come on Trip, it's time to go. My mom's on her way."

Trip looked at him pleadingly, "Can we take them with us? Pleeeeease?"

Arthur's face paled, "What? No! I have enough problems with just you Power Rangers!"

"Awwww…."

Arthur frowned, "No Trip."

"Fiiiine." Trip stood and walked to the edge of the shelf. He leapt gracefully from there to Arthur's shoulders. He turned and waved at the shelves full of movie, TV, anime, book and video game characters, "Thanks you guys!"

They roared back their farewells. The doorknob turned again. Every piece of plastic in the room instantly quieted and stopped moving. Trip leapt into Arthur's hand.

Max peeked in, "Ready Arthur, your mom's here."

Arthur stowed Trip in his bag and took one last glance at the wall of fictional characters who also happened to be real. He shook his head, "Yeah, ok."

* * *

On the ride home, his mother grilled him about his new friends. Among the standard questions about whether or not he had a good time and what they did, were ones like, 'You didn't handle any power drills, did you?'

"I take one table apart," Arthur complained, "And you never let me live it down."

His mother grinned at him in the rear view mirror, "Nope."

Arthur sighed and reached back into his bag and pulled Trip out. But Trip wasn't the only one in there. A small figure winked at him before again going immobile. Great, Arthur thought, staring at the new addition to his growing collection. How was he going to explain to his mother that he'd left with one Power Ranger figure and came back with that plus Indiana Jones?

* * *

*AN*

So yeah… This is now an Indiana Jones/Power Rangers Crossover. But our favorite adventurous archeologist won't have too big of a role, I promise. Unless the Rangers get stuck in an ancient temple with giant boulders and snakes. Although, it's possible. I donno.

*AN2*

Hey, guess what? It's getting hard for me to keep track of whose in which chapters so I'm going to start a list of the people in the chapter and which season they're from.

In approximate order of appearance:

Trip – Green Time Ranger

Zordon – Mentor from Mighty Morphin Power Rangers

Kimberly – Pink Mighty Morphin Ranger

Adam – Green Turbo Ranger and hereafter referred to as Turbo Adam

Syd – Pink SPD Ranger

Tyzonn – Mercury Ranger – Operation Overdrive

Hissta – Mysterious Snake-Lady sent to take some of the Rangers back to her cruel master

Indiana Jones – He's not a Power Ranger. If you really don't know, just go watch the three(yes three!) movies. They're worth it.

* * *

*Next Week*

Next Week: Rocky fights himself, Arthur's mother fights her patience and Eric takes on both the Psycho Rangers and A-Squad


	18. Chapter 18: The Mighty Ducts

Chapter 18 – The Mighty Ducts

"She can send us there!" Red Mighty Morphin Rocky said, waving a clenched fist in the air. "Hissta can call the portal and send us to the very hideout of the person responsible for this! We can end this! Now and today!"

Around him, the assembled Rangers nodded, murmuring their agreement.

"But we don't know what's waiting us there. What if it's a trap?" Blue Zeo Rocky didn't like the idea of charging blindly into any situation. Much less one as dangerous as this could be.

"A trap?" Red Rocky seemed incredulous, "I'm fairly certain that we're already in the trap!" He gestured again at the room around them, "It can't get much more trap-like than this!"

"I'm just saying, we should be cautious. Careful."

"And I'm saying, I'm tired of being three inches tall and made of plastic!"

A few of the Rangers cheered this but now more of them seemed to be agreeing with Blue Rocky. They wanted to get home but were wary about such a seemingly convenient chance. Too many times conveniences or surprises, turned out to be traps or trouble.

"What does Zordon think," Nick asked nervously. "Shouldn't we be asking him and the Mystic Mother if this is dangerous or not? They are the experts in this sort of thing."

"What about Karone!" Andros forced his way through the crowd, eyes wide and shadowed from lack of sleep. "We can't just leave her in the hands of those…monsters!"

"They have the Sword of Light too," Alex calmly reminded them, "We definitely can't let them keep that." When Andros glared at him, he quickly amended, "Not that Karone is less important than the Sword."

"Why aren't we out looking for her," Andros asked angrily. "She could be in trouble!"

"Where else would you have us look Space Ranger Red?" Dr. K asked as she joined the discussion, giving the very distressed Ranger her best weary glare. "We have teams crawling through ventilation system and a few 'volunteers' checking the trash cans. We have searched every other conceivable hiding space. _Where else_ would you have us look?"

"I…I don' know." Andros ran a tired hand through his hair, "But I have to do _something_. I lost my little sister once and I won't let it happen again. I can't."

Dillon, understanding Andros's pain, stood beside him, clapping him on the shoulder, "I'll help you look man. If no one else will. We'll keep looking until we find her."

They heard feet pounding up the stairs and the Rangers fled for cover. A few didn't make it and dropped to the ground, motionless.

Arthur burst through his door, eyes bright and smiling, clearly excited beyond all reason, "HEY POWER RANGERS! GUESS WHAT!"

Trip jumped down from Arthur's backpack, accompanied by a figure familiar to some but completely alien to others.

Indiana Jones tilted his hat in greeting, "Hiya."

* * *

Arthur leapt down from the van and sprinted through the front door without shutting his. Sighing, his mother walked around the van and slid the door closed. That boy…

"Heeeeeeeeey Mrs. Jones!" The young girl from across the street ran up behind her. "Mrs. Jones! Mrs. Jones!"

Forcing a smile, Barbra turned, "Hellow Caroline."

"Soooooooo," Caroline liked to draw out her first words then rush the rest, "What we you doing up at two in the morning yesterday?" Huh, huh, huh?"

"What are you talking about Caroline? Mr. Jones and I actually overslept this morning, we definitely weren't up late last night."

"Weeeeell, last night I woke up because I had a nightmare and went downstairs to get some water. Buuuuuut when I was going back to bed I saw all the lights on at your house. Were you having a party without me?"

So that's why Arthur seemed so tired this morning! She shook off the curious six year old and followed her son into the house. What was he doing up at two in the morning? "Arthur!"

His voice filtered through his door, "Yeah Mom!"

"Caroline Horst, from across the street, says that she saw lights on at two o'clock this morning. You wouldn't happen to know anything about this, would you?"

It was a few seconds before he answered, "Noooo!"

"Are you lying?"

He paused even longer, "Noooo…"

"Arthur Wallace Jones, what were you doing with all the lights on this morning?" He muttered something but she couldn't hear it, "What was that?"

"I said I was playing with the Power Rangers! I'm helping them save the world!"

She sighed, "Arthur….they're just _toys._"

"They're not toys, they're Power Rangers!"

Shaking her head, Arthur's mother was just glad he'd made friends today. Maybe it was a sign that he would grow out of this doll phase. Eventually. She started to simply march up there and take all the little things away. For his own good. But she was distracted by the phone ringing and soon forgot.

* * *

Trini was not one who liked to crawl around in small, tight spaces. She wasn't claustrophobic but she wasn't really enjoying herself either. Aluminum always looked boring but after looking at halls and halls of it for hours on end, you started deeply hating its dull silver color. Luckily, this was the last vent in the house. They were almost finished but in front of her, the duct ended in a T. She stopped, "Which way, left or right?"

"Right."

"Left."

"Back."

"Back was not one of the options Eric," Trini replied tersely. Eric hated being here more than she did. And he let them know it at every opportunity.

"Well, it should be."

Shane seemed to have had enough of that too. He coughed loudly and pointed to the right, "We're going right and Eric, you're not allowed to talk for the next ten minutes."

They continued on, Eric in angry silence. Eric seemed wary around Shane, nobody had figured out why but Shane was one of a rare few who could make Eric back down.

They again reached a T but this time they could hear faint voices coming from the left fork. Trini motioned for them to move forward quietly. Crawling as softly as they could, they inched forward towards the open grate in front of them.

"Ah! It should have worked!"

Bridge's eyes widened and he pushed past the other Rangers. He crouched down next to Trini. "I know that voice. That's the leader of A-Squad, Charlie," he whispered from the side of his mouth. "We've found them!"

They both leaned forward slightly.

* * *

The fan whooshed rhythmically at the back of the room. This was the end of the entire ventilation system, as far in the back of the house, as high in the attic, as possible. Fourteen figures were scattered around the relatively small space. In the center, Astronema held the Sword of Power above her bound future self. It glowed briefly then the light vanished. Nothing had happened, nothing had changed.

"Why isn't it working Astronema," Charlie demanded, fuming. She had been promised that this would work. She plans for this Sword and its abilities.

"That's not my fault," Astronema replied, lowering the sword. "We did everything like the TV Show Rangers. It should have worked."

"But the fact remains, it did not," Venjx's voice boomed. "If it is not the process, then there must be a part missing. We must discover what it is and obtain it."

"It won't be long before the Rangers find us. We were supposed to have moved on by now," Psycho Red said. "You have to remember, Astronema, we can't bring the Ranger with us."

"I wasn't planning on it." She considered her options. She had planned on taking her good half's powers, becoming a Power Ranger herself. She knew Charlie had similar plans for the SPD Rangers. But if it didn't work, then this entire exercise was pointless. "We must be missing something." She glanced at Ecliptor, who nodded. "And luckily, I believe we have someone nearby who knows what it is."

Ecliptor dove towards the open grate, reaching in and grabbing the first figure he came too. Bridge kicked at Ecliptor's legs but Ecliptor just tossed Bridge against the wall.

Stunned, Charlie and A-Squad stood and watched as Astronema and the Psycho Rangers struggled to pull out three other figures. They joined Bridge in the corner of the room, away from the only escape route that wouldn't end with diced Ranger.

"Enjoying the show," Astronema asked, smugly walking towards the Power Rangers. "I'm glad you could make it." She held the Sword in front of her, pointing it at the only girl in the group, "You, Yellow, you know how to work this. If I remember correctly, you were one of the ones using it. Show me how it works."

"Well, your memory must be wrong because I've never seen that before in my life." Bridge nudged her discretely and she tensed. They waited until Astronema started to demand again that Trini show her how to work the Sword to strike. "Now!"

There was no formal plan, it had only been seconds since they'd been discovered, but Power Rangers are very good at unconsciously working together. They didn't need a plan.

Trini went straight for Astronema, kicking her backwards. Both Bridge and Shane took on Ecliptor which left Eric to face down the evil A-Squad and Psycho Rangers.

"Not. Fair."

* * *

Astronema swung the Sword of Light like an expert, making Trini wished she had her daggers to help defend herself. Astronema was strong, easily as strong as Tommy had been while evil. As fast too. But Trini knew how to fight Tommy. If your opponent was stronger than you, wear them out. If they were faster, outsmart them. If you were unlucky enough to be facing someone who was both, get help. Trini carefully maneuvered Astronema towards the still bound Karone until, with one careless swing, the Sword cut through the twine holding Karone still.

Karone leapt up and knocked aside the Sword as it was about to slice into a briefly defenseless Trini.

"Thanks," Trini said, reaching out to shake Karone's hand.

"Ditto."

Astronema hissed as the two Rangers turned towards her and backed away. Karone and Trini followed.

* * *

Ecliptor didn't say much, he had never been very lively. He stuck close to Astronema and mostly answered questions with nods. He had seemed bored with their existence as plastic but now he fought like his life was on the line.

Bridge blocked a high kick and Shane pushed forward with a punch. Ecliptor spun almost too quickly to see and somehow blocked it. He unleashed a flurry of fast punches and drove Bridge and Shane against the wall. They defended themselves until, with almost eerie synchronicity, Shane sprang into the air, distracting Ecliptor, and Bridge tackled him, taking him to the ground.

Ecliptor tossed Bridge away and rolled out of the way just as Shane's feet landed where his head had been just seconds before. He leapt to his feet as Bridge and Shane clenched their fists and charged at him again.

* * *

"One. Two." Eric easily blocked Blue Psycho and Blue A-Squad's punches and shoved them away.

"Three. Four. Five." He ducked under Pink and Black Psycho's quick punches and dodged Green A-Squad's swift kick. With a quick flip out of the way, Pink and Black Psycho knocked each other down and Green A-Squad backed down.

"Six. Seven." He dove to the side as Pink Psycho and Yellow A-Squad tried to jump him from the side. They collided and stayed down.

"Eight." Pink A-Squad appeared from nowhere and tossed Eric towards the wall. He twisted in the air and pushed off from the wall, coming back to Pink A-Squad and roughly knocking into her. She collapsed on her already fallen team mates.

As Red Psycho and Charlie stepped forward to confront him, he finished counting. "Nine. Ten. There's ten of you guys?"

The evil Rangers didn't say anything. Red Psycho flipped towards him while Charlie ran to the side.

He turned to keep them both in his sight. Charlie started towards him and he prepared to defend himself when Red Psycho, who he had briefly forgotten about, reached him. A vicious kick knocked him backwards. Charlie's hard punch, knocked him even further back. Desperately trying to recover, Eric leapt to the side but stumbled over the pile of downed evil Rangers.

Astronema rushed past him followed by Trini and Karone. Karone helped him up.

Ecliptor was thrown into view. He landed on the same pile of Rangers Eric had tripped over and scrambled to his feet. Bridge and Shane joined the group standing in front of the open grate. They could leave any time they wanted now.

Astronema waved the sword in the air, "We still have the Sword of Light Rangers!"

Trini growled, "You won't for much longer."

"No," Shane held her back. "We can't defeat them all." The evil Rangers on the ground began to stir.

"Why not? We were doing a good job before?"

"The others need to know."

"Then go tell them," Eric said with disgust. "I can take them." Shane gave Eric a level look but Eric's eyes were burning. "I'm not afraid of you _Red_. And I don't need your help to win."

"I wasn't suggesting that we run away, we may be able to keep them at bay but we cannot win. We need help."

"But we can't leave them with the Sword," Bridge reminded them. "It's too powerful."

"We rescued Karone," Shane said, "That's what's important right now."

The rest of the evil Rangers had risen to their feet and were watching them talk.

"But look at them," Eric insisted, "They know they can't beat us. That's why they're not attacking."

Shane hesitated and Eric snarled, moving past Trini and rushing at the assembled evil Rangers.

The group moved like a flash, using speed they hadn't displayed earlier and before anyone could react, Eric fell to the ground with the Sword of Light sticking out of his chest. Scared, Bridge and Karone began rushing towards him but Psycho Green and A-Squad Blue picked them up and threw them so hard into the side of the aluminum room that they left a dent. Trini tried to get out of the way of the charging Psycho Red but he grabbed her by the shoulder and threw her towards the spinning blades. Somehow, she hit the small bar in front of the fan and wasn't chopped into pieces. Shane stood alone in their way. He leapt into the air again but Ecliptor was ready for that move. He tossed A-Squad Yellow up into the air, higher than Shane. A-Squad Yellow kicked Shane through the open grate. He flew back until he hit the edge of the T of the duct.

After retrieving the Sword from a sputtering Eric, Astronema leapt into the duct, walking towards him. The rest of the Evil Rangers followed, Venjix, useless in a fight, was being carried by Ecliptor. "You were right to want to go for help little ninja boy," she said taunting him. "You really didn't stand a chance." She walked by as he tried to struggle to his feet.

Psycho Red shoved him back down, "Stay down and live for another day. It's not your time to die yet."

Head swimming, the only thing Shane could think of was, _gotta tell the others. Gotta tell the others. _Where was he again?

* * *

"They still haven't returned." Tori said, worried. It was almost midnight. Arthur was asleep as were most of the Rangers. Only those whose teammates were still missing were awake.

Wes knew it wasn't like Eric to miss a check-in time. "We need to go find them. They might have found the Sword."

"Or Karone," Andros said.

"Don't bother," Zack said, spotting someone at the bottom of the stairs. "I think that's them." He squinted at the figures, "Wait, are they carrying someone?" He started to fly down the stairs, followed quickly by the others, "They need help, someone's been hurt!"

* * *

*AN*

Is the chapter title really a good one? No. Is it a funny pun that has a little to do with what actually happens? Yes. But do I love it? Yeeeeeaaaaaahhhh:)

*AN2*

As to the wounded Eric, can a plastic man survive when his guts have been carved up? CAN HE? ...well I'm not telling…

*Character List*

Rocky and Rocky – Blue Zeo Ranger and Red Mighty Morphin Ranger

Nick – Red Mystic Force Ranger

Andros – Red In Space Ranger

Alex – Original Red Time Force Ranger

Dr. K. – Mentor for RPM Rangers

Dillon – Black RPM Ranger

Trini – Yellow Mighty Morphin Ranger

Eric – Quantum Ranger Time Force

Bridge – Green SPD Ranger

Shane – Red Ninja Storm Ranger

Astronema – Villain from In Space

Karone – Astronema's real form and Andros's little sister

Ecliptor – Surprisingly sympathetic villain from In Space – raised Astronema from a child

A-Squad – original SPD Rangers, turned evil

Psycho Rangers – bad guy created copies of the Rangers – In Space

Venjix – main villain from RPM – talks like Zordon meaning in a **big**, **booming** voice.


	19. Chapter 19: A Midnight Mission

Chapter 19 – A Midnight Mission

The mood was somber and silent, no one seemed to know what to say. How did you comfort someone in a time like this? Kendrix and her team circulated between the Rangers. They knew how the death of such a close friend felt but even they didn't say much. They held the Time Force Rangers close, just in case.

With a quiet rustle, the Mystic Mother and Princess Shayla came out the door. The Rangers froze, if they had hearts, they would have been stopped in fear of the next words.

After looking at them, straight faced, for a few heart wrenching moments, Princess Shayla smiled, "He will live."

The collective sighs of relief rattled the nearby cardboard buildings.

Princess Shayla continued, "It appears that, at the time, he was mostly plastic so that when the Sword pierced his stomach, it did not kill him. So long as he _stays_ plastic, he will be just fine." Those present noticed the emphasis on stays but didn't remark on it. Right now, it was good enough that he was alive.

Taylor, for some reason, seemed especially relieved although she quickly attempted to cover this up by crossing her arms, muttering, "Idiot," and walking away.

The other SPD Rangers rushed into the makeshift hospital while the rest of the Rangers scattered to their various homes. The excitement was over. For now. The evil Rangers had escaped again, a Ranger had been severely injured but would survive. And, for now, that was the best they could hope for.

* * *

It was dark outside now, Arthur was long since asleep, and most of them just wanted to hang up their morphers for a few hours. Having missed so much sleep so many nights in a row had their plastic eyelids drooping. But not everyone could sleep.

The Mighty Morphin Mansion, at the center of the spirals of soap-carved Zords, was dark for the most part. However, at the very bottom, the blue-colored level was lit up as Billy, the occupying Ranger, frantically tried to understand what was wrong with their powers. He'd been over their situation a dozen times but he still came up blank when it came to how to restore their abilities. His earlier trick hadn't worked and he could think of no other way to connect to the Power. Maybe he had calculated something wrong. Maybe he should go through them again…

Two stories above him, the bright yellow outside matched the light-flooded inside as Trini lay on the small matchbox bed, going over about their battle today with a self-critical eye. Maybe if they hadn't talked about what to do for so long, they could have ran. Or attacked. She still wasn't sure what the right course of action had been. Maybe if she had just tried to take the Sword from Astronema instead of freeing Karone. No. She was sure that had been the right thing to do. Helping a fellow Ranger, even one you'd never met, was the most important thing. You would want others to do the same for you. She sighed and turned over on her side. Maybe she should just glad Eric would be ok and leave it at that.

* * *

Across the 'city' in a smaller, less impressive, abode, Justin stared out his window. He'd pulled the dust ruffle back so he could see the night sky through it. The Space Rangers, the future selves of his own Turbo friends, had told him how they raced into space after failing to protect the world. Space, the final frontier. He'd always dreamed of being an astronaut, being one of the few allowed to roam it's endless range. They had never told him why he hadn't gone with them but he hoped it was important. The stars seemed brighter than usual tonight. Normally, he couldn't see many of them due to the light pollution of the nearby houses and streetlights. But tonight, he couldn't even count the shining points of light in the sky. Feeling homesick, he wondered if his dad was looking at them too in their own universe. He would be really worried about him. He yawned, wondering how much trouble he would be in when he did get home. His yawn returned, even stronger. He knew he should be asleep, Tanya and Kat would kill him if they knew he was still awake at this hour but he couldn't sleep. Something about these stars held his attention. It really was beautiful out there…

* * *

Theo glumly sat in front of the door to Arthur's bedroom, he had watch duty tonight. He knew he was lucky, though, since tonight he was joined by their latest addition, the most famous archeologist ever. He had never been a big movie person but even _he_ knew about Indiana Jones.

"I'm glad your friend's gonna be ok."

"Who, Eric? Yeah, me too." Eric had always gotten on his nerves, so bossy and self assured. Sure, he was glad he wasn't going to die too but that's not what he wanted to talk about. He wanted to hear about one of Jones's adventures. "So…how did you get to be…plastic?"

Indiana sighed, "Long story."

"Indulge me? We've got the time."

"All right." He leaned back and pulled his wide brim hat over his eyes, "I was in the middle of the Himalayans searching for Shangri-La. You see, while on a dig in Mongolia, I came across an old book written in ancient Sewalungma. And after a lot of time spent deciphering it, I discovered that it was describing the hidden utopia as being in a well protected cleft a few hundred feet below the crest of the Kangchenjunga South mountain. I traveled there to find that, in addition to the usual evil conspiracy wanting a piece of the Shangri-pie, the Kangchenjunga mountain is also protected by a…a demon of some kind. I'm guessing it's a cousin to the local Yeti. Needless to say, he wasn't too happy when I accidently staggered into his cave and woke up his kids. One minute, I'm running for my life and falling head first into a snow drift and the next I'm sitting face first in some kids garbage can. _Nothing_ in between. I blink, and I'm in a different place. At first I wondered if this was some kind of Sewalungma curse I'd stumbled into but once I realized the full extent of my journey, I began to doubt that idea. I don't think ancient Sewalungmains played with dolls."

"Wow, that's a lot better story than mine. I don't know if I'd have the guts to face down a Yeti."

Indiana shorted, "Please kid, don't sell yourself short. I've heard little Harry talk about 'ya all the time. You and your friends took down giant monsters and creatures from space. You're braver than most."

"But you faced aliens too!"

Indiana raised his hat and looked at him, startled, "I did what now?"

* * *

In the Command Center, a skeleton crew of Rangers were awake, trying to discover what The Competent Crew, their extremely creative nickname for the villains who had escaped, wanted with the Sword of Light. Zordon had refused to talk to them about it, which had them even more worried. They left the door open to the room he usually stayed in just in case he decided to contribute.

Dana stood at the table in front of the lightning bolt symbol, "We know that some the Mighty Morphin Rangers used it to transfer their powers to new people. But was it a onetime deal or can it be used again?"

"Do you think they'll try and create new Rangers?" Corcus wouldn't have minded the help but he doubted any new Rangers would be helpful. Most likely they would be evil like their creators.

"Can they," Danny asked, "or can the Sword only be used to transfer powers?"

Flynn rubbed an annoyed hand through his hair. "Why, out of all the weapons that we have, did _this_ one have to stay with us? Why couldn't it be lost like the rest of them?"

"Doesn't that seem odd," Trey added. "That only some of our weapons are gone and some aren't."

Kira rolled her eyes, "If that's the thing you think is odd in this entire situation, when we're freaking action figures!, than your priorities are out of order."

"Maybe that's our problem," Trey insisted, gaining steam. "Maybe instead of being focused on what happened to all of us, we should figure out why some things only happened to _some_ of us!" He waved at Flynn, "You guys have your Nitro Swords, right?" Flynn nodded affirmative. "And the SPD Rangers still have their Delta Max Stikers. I know Mighty Morphin came with their Blade Blasters and the Mystic Force Rangers still have their Magi Staff's." The others started to understand.

Danny took up the train of thought, "So why don't I have my Crystal Saber, or Dana her Quasar Launcher?"

"Exactly. It seems that the weapons that our personal weapons are missing for the most part while the general weapons that most Rangers on our teams are here…but not all of them."

"I don't know," Kira said. "This seems like pointless coincidence. There's no way it matters who has which weapons. It's just random."

"How can it be random? We know it isn't random, Hissta pretty much killed any chance of this being random. There was a _thought_ behind this act and I believe there was a thought behind who arrived with weapons."

"But Hissta wasn't expecting us to be alive! So whoever sent her didn't expect us to be alive either! Us being action figures may not be random but us being alive and able to move is."

"How does any of this help us get back the Sword of Light?" Dana knew that Rangers sometimes had a hard time keeping on target. They could be distracted by the craziest of things. "If this thing is as important as Zordon says it is, we need to focus on _that_. Deal with this first _and then_ worry about our weapons, Hissta and her mysterious master."

The Rangers were silent for a second, digesting this, when they heard a voice boom from the other room, "Dana has gotten to the crux of our situation. Come, I believe there are things that we must discuss." They exchanged glances then moved into the other room, flipping on the lights as they entered.

Zordon sat, as always, in his tube; confined by magic that even their shift to plastic couldn't break. He looked down at them, "I apologize for my lack of guidance in these last hours but I have been gravely concerned. The loss of the Sword of Light is a terrible blow to our abilities but it is far worse than you fear."

"Um, should we go get the other Rangers for this," Kira asked, if this was something important, the others should be here to hear it too.

"No!" His voice shook the building. "This is something that only a few can know. I must charge the six of you with a special task, it will be dangerous but I am confident that you have the abilities to accomplish it."

Corcus was getting nervous, "Are you sure Zordon? I mean, wouldn't you feel more comfortable sending the Mighty Morphin Rangers to do this? They are your team."

Zordon paused then shook his head, "I fear they will be needed here. You six are from different backgrounds and you have experience fight a broad range of creatures, I can think of no better group to send."

"I can," Flynn muttered softly. He couldn't believe this was happening, they weren't exactly the most experienced of the Rangers or the best. He was just a greasy mechanic from Scotland for Power's sake!

Shaking off the sudden feeling of apprehension, Trey stepped forward, "What do you need us to do?"

"The Sword of Light is…very special." At that instant, Zordon decided that he couldn't burden them with just how important the Sword of Light really was. So he held some of the knowledge back and continued, "I once used it to copy the powers from one set of Rangers and create new ones. But that is not all it can do. Had I believed that Trini, Jason or Zack would never be needed again, I could have taken their powers instead of merely coping them. I fear that if those with dark hearts discover this ability of the Sword, the Power Rangers are doomed."

"So you want us to go after them," Danny asked. "Bring back the Sword?" He could do that, he thought. A simple search and recover mission. Sure, with the fates of the Power Rangers in his hands but this wouldn't be the first time he'd had this kind of pressure.

"Yes and no. They will have undoubtedly have left the house by now and I am unsure of their next objective. You must find them and the Sword. But the Sword of Light is far too dangerous. If you are unable to retrieve it…it must be destroyed."

Kira quickly noticed a problem with this, "But how will Trini and the rest transfer their powers if there's no Sword? Zordon, you're asking us to mess with the timeline of our universe!"

"I understand the gravity of the task I am setting to you but it must be done. If it becomes clear that the Sword will escape you, take your morpher, any of them, and strike the sword with it. The Sword will shatter and explode."

"And our morpher," Corcus asked, even more nervous than he had been earlier. "It'll be ok, right?"

"Yes, your morpher should survive the destruction of the Sword."

"Should," Flynn asked. "How much of it is _should_?"

"I am ninety percent certain that your morpher will not be destroyed."

"Oh well, if that's all…"

"Are you _sure_ it should be just us," Dana asked. "Let's just send someone else."

"No," Zordon's voice boomed again. "You must not tell anyone where you are going."

"Why not?"

"The danger the Sword brings must remain a secret. Tell no one, let no one see you leave."

Kira spoke up, "The others will wonder why we're gone." She knew her own team would be very vocal about it.

"I will explain away your absence," Zordon assured them. "No go!, and recover the Sword. Time is of the essence."

Hesitating again, they glanced at each other. Flynn shrugged, "All right, we'll just have to take Zordon's word on this one. Let's go."

* * *

Theo really wanted to go to sleep. Indiana had stopped talking awhile ago, but he could see his eyes were open, staring at the blank, white ceiling. This job was so boring. They weren't going to be attacked, the C Crew were on the run. Shane had given them a kick in the pants and now they were scared. There was no reason to be sitting here. He just wanted to sleep. His head slipped forward but he jerked it back up as he remembered how scared everyone had been when they carried Eric through earlier. He could have died. So he couldn't fall asleep. Just in case.

He heard a noise behind him and slowly turned his head around. The moon lit room was empty, nothing moved. Then he saw a faint shadow flicker across Arthur's desk. He quickly stood, disturbing Indiana's reflective thinking.

"What," asked Indiana, sitting up. "Something wrong?"

"I thought…" He saw another shadow this one paused long enough for Indiana to get a look at him. Indiana motioned for him to follow and began to run towards the desk. The shadow vanished once they started heading towards it.

"Come on." Indiana sped up, full on sprinting. He slipped his whip out of its clip. "Come on!"

They crossed the width of the room in a minute. Indiana cracked his whip, connecting with the circular beam on the back of the chair. He swung upward as Theo began to climb the drawers.

Indiana landed on an open drawer and hopped up to the top of the desk. He stood perfectly still, searching the shadows. He still hadn't found anything when Theo finally reached the top, panting.

He reached up, "A little help?"

Indian knelt down and pulled the kid up, keeping his ears alert for anyone sneaking up on him. He heard something creak and twirled, swinging Theo around like a weapon. The window was now ajar. With all his might, he threw Theo towards it.

Theo landed, stumbling a bit, right in the opening but before he could completely regain his footing, something slammed into him, knocking him aside. Six figures darted past him, leaping from the window. Theo noticed the colors as they flashed by, yellow, blue, black, gold, pink, black. By the time Indiana reached him, he'd lost track of them in the bushes.

"Who were those guys?"

"I think…I think they were some of us!"

"What, Power Rangers?"

"Yeah…"

"Huh. Where do you think they were going?"

* * *

*AN*

Yes, the fourth Indiana Jones movie hasn't happened for him. Yet.

*AN2*

A big thanks to Michelle the Editor and Numbervania for pointing out a few errors and missing Rangers, mostly to Legacy. I appreciate it!

*Next Week*

The Rangers get a bit…miffed at Zordon.

*CL*

Kendrix and the Galaxy Rangers

Mysitc Mother – Mentor for Mystic Force Rangers

Princess Shayla – Mentor for Wild Force Rangers

Taylor – Yellow Wild Force Ranger

Billy – Blue Mighty Morphin Ranger

Trini – Yellow Mighty Morphin Ranger

Justin – Blue Turbo Ranger

Theo – Blue Jungle Fury Ranger

**Search and Recover Team **

Dana – Pink Lightspeed Ranger

Corcus – Black Alien Ranger

Danny – Black Wild Force Ranger

Flynn – Blue RPM Ranger

Trey – original Gold Zeo Ranger

Kira – Yellow Dino Thunder Ranger


	20. Chapter 20: Two Points

Chapter 20 – Two Points

"THAT'S IT!" The Rangers in the Command Center stopped talking and stared at the intruder in shock. Dr. K was seething. Her anger rolled off her in waves, making anyone unfortunate enough to be standing nearby shiver. Eyes sharp, she stormed to the door on the opposite side of the room and threw it open. "You had no right Zordon! No right to send him off without telling me! He's part of _my_ team, not yours! If you want to put people in danger, send Might Morphin'! Not! My! Friends!"

Zordon regarded the young woman in front of her then nodded solemnly, "I apologize but secrecy was required."

"_But why?" _

"I needed to act quickly, there was simply no time for a lengthy discussion."

Dr. K sighed, her anger cooling, "Everyone here trusts you Zordon, more than I've ever seen any one person trust another. I bet if you told them leaping off a cliff would save the day, most of them would do it! So why can't you trust us enough to tell us when our friends are being sent off into harm's way?"

Those Rangers nearby were crowding in the doorway, their faces carefully blank. They did trust Zordon. A lot. But they also agreed with Dr. K that he was keeping far too many secrets from them. They just didn't feel confident enough to say that to his face.

"There is no need for you to know," Zordon insisted. "It would only cause you to worry and fear."

Dr. K snorted, "I think these _teenagers_ have proven themselves strong enough to deal with more worry and fear than most adults have to, or ever could, handle. I'm sure they can take a bit more."

"_It is not necessary_ to add to their burden."

"We have a right to know." The crowd of Rangers parted to let the speaker through. Bulk and Skull strutted through, heads held high. Bulk puffed out his chest. "We may not be _'Power Rangers'_," Bulk said using air quotes, "but _I_ have personally led an attack on _thousands_ of monsters. Skull here," he knocked his friend in the chest, "helped."

"Yeah!" Skull thought about it then started to protest before Bulk stopped him with a shhh.

"As admirable as your actions have been, you have not had to shoulder the fates of entire worlds."

"It doesn't matter." Red Jason moved to stand next to Bulk and Skull. "These two may have been nothing more than bullies in my time but I can see how much they've changed. They are heroes, just like us. They may not have fought giant monsters but it's never been about how big a demon you destroy, it's the fact that you're willing to try. _You_ taught us that Zordon. So trust us because we _want_ to know and we want to help."

"Are you, Jason, also demanding to know all of my secrets and concerns?" Zordon loomed above them, his kind smile gone.

Jason hesitated but nodded, "Not all of them but when Rangers are being sent in the dark of night to parts and dangers unknown, yeah, it's time we had a talk."

* * *

The remaining villains were confused. Why had they been included in this talk? Weren't the Rangers supposed to despise them? They certainly despised the Rangers and always would. But they had been asked…actually, politely asked!, to gather here with the Rangers. They just didn't understand.

"I bet they're going to simply dispose of us," King Mondo said quietly. "It's what I would do. Gather all my enemies in one place then strike!"

Elgar wasn't so sure. "But we've been in one place for months now. If they wanted to just kill us, they would have done it by now."

"Shut up Elgar," Divatox demanded. "For all you know the Rangers fell in some kind of toxic vat and are evil now!"

Rita rolled her eyes. Honestly, sometimes she wondered how Divatox ever defeated the Rangers. She was just too stupid.

"I heard that!" Divatox turned to glare at her.

Rita started, she hadn't said that out loud that she knew of.

"Oh, don't worry dear, I didn't read your thoughts. As few as I'm sure there are. I just know that look on your face. And I hate it!"

"Ladies…," Mesagog cut in before they started a cat fight, "I believe they are about to begin."

* * *

Green and White Tommy wheeled Zordon's tube out of the Command Center using the cart made from popsicle sticks, twin to the one Venjix was moved around on. The assembled Rangers and remaining villains were silent.

Zordon gazed at them serenely, his composure reestablished and his mind made up. He did owe it to them to tell them the truth. Some of them fought because he had asked them too but all of them would fight even if he didn't. He had always held the belief that even if he had not given those first five teenagers with attitude the Power, they would have fought back against Rita. They may not have lasted long, most likely would not have actually defeated her, but with their personalities, their sense of what is right and their belief that they could change the world for the better, they would not have just sit by and watched. He had come to believe the same thing about the rest of the Rangers as well. It was one of the greatest attributes that they all shared. And he was proud to help them fight back against the forces of evil.

He could not say the same of the villains. Evil scum, they fought for selfish purposes. They put their desires for power and control above their fellow creatures well being. But he couldn't even blindly hate them all. He had watched this universe's interpretation of his own and found that a surprising number of villains turned good in the end. Not all, but some. Rita and Lord Zedd, to his shock, had even turned into humans with his death spell. The deranged mutant Ransik would turn himself in rather than harm his daughter. Messagog's alter ego and Trent's adopted father, Anton Mercer, actively fought against the plague that used his body. Dai Shi and Jarrod had a similar relationship. In these cases and more, the good inherent in the person defied the oppressing evil.

Even in the underlings, this desire to make oneself better existed. He glanced at Dillion and his sister, Tenaya 15. She had been like Astronema when they first appeared. Convinced by the powers of darkness that the person who was really her family, was an enemy. Tenaya had gone through a period where she and Astronema roamed the streets at night, striking at any unlucky enough to wander across them. Dillion and Andros had finally faced them. Dillion had been able to get through to his sister, had hummed a tune and pulled out a locket. Andros tried a similar tactic but was punched for his trouble. It seemed that, unlike with Tenaya, Dark Spector had been able to completely wipe the old human from the machine. Astronema did not want to be Karone because she truly believed she wasn't. Even when Karone first confronted her, she'd blown her off like she was delusional.

So in front of him was a group of mostly good people, whether or not they knew it yet. And he had to tell them something horrible. It was something he had never wanted to do. Those six sent away had been led to do so under mostly false pretenses. They did not know the number of lives that rested with their success. Yes, the Sword of Light could be used to take away the Rangers powers but that was the barest minimal of its abilities.

The group still watched him, silent. Expecting.

"The Sword of Light," he began then stopped, again reconsidering his decision. But the faces in front of him tightened and he knew he had to keep going. They did have the right to know the danger they might be in. "The Sword of Light is a thing of unimaginable power." A few of the Rangers rolled their eyes, they'd heard that already. "Let me explain." He paused again, considering how to explain such a complex concept. "Imagine a point, a single point, so small it's invisible to the naked eye." Some Rangers nodded encouragingly. "Imagine that this point connects all goodness, all kindness and joy, a central point in space and time, a point that transcends universes and boundaries alike. Now imagine another point, this one connecting darkness, the evil and fear." He paused again, this time to let that sink in for a second. "You are aware that the Morphing Grid from which you gain most of your abilities is powered by the conflict between good and evil, correct? But it is actually these two points striving against another. Fighting for ground and power. For everything. It is an extremely delicate balance, their conflict, they are without doubt of equal strength and almost of equal power but they are always in battle with one another. The Sword of Light and the Sword of Darkness are two swords created to contribute to this conflict, as close to physical manifestations as there are. Each Sword can be used to greatly damage or even destroy the other point. "

"Wait," Zach said, interrupting Zordon, "we destroyed the Sword of Darkness! Jason smashed it to save Tommy."

"That was not the real Sword of Darkness, Zack. That was a copy Rita created to enhance the evil in Tommy and control him. I doubt she's ever seen the real Sword of Darkness but she knew enough from stories and hearsay to create a close replica with her magic."

Everyone there turned and stared at Rita until she scowled and looked away, "I was _going_ to find it _someday_!"

"But the sword they stole the real Sword of Light?"

Zordon nodded.

"What happens if the Sword is destroyed?"

"Nothing, the point will simply create another object and hide it until it is needed. But the true danger is that they find this point while they have the Sword. And destroy it."

"Can they do that," Joel asked softly.

"With the Sword of Light as their guide, yes."

"And what," Maya asked cautiously, as softly as Joel had, "would happen then?"

Zordon hesitated again. He had gone this far but this was easily the worst part. "The forces of Darkness would win. Permanently."

"But how," Green Zeo Adam spoke up, disbelieving and angry. "Surely this point couldn't steal our kindness from us if it was destroyed? We are not who we are because of some random point in space!"

"No, you're goodness is most assuredly inherent within you but without that central point, focusing it and fighting against the Midnight Singularity, the forces that drew their powers from the darkness would be indescribably more powerful than you would be. I have no doubt that you would try your hardest to stop them but you would most definitely fail. They would destroy everything and everyone. Effortlessly."

"Then let's go after them!" Scott leapt to his feet, "We can't leave Flynn and the others to fight that battle alone! We have to help!"

"No!"

They stared at Zordon, eyes wide.

"Why not?"

"As dire as the situation is, it is not our current priority."

"What? No!" Pink Turbo Cassie stood too, she wasn't going to just sit here and let the universe be destroyed. She was supposed to stop that kind of thing! "We can't let the only group of villains worth anything find this light thing!"

"And we won't!" Zordon's voice grew hard, "We _will_ stop them before them they discover the Noonday Singularity. But they don't _even know_ about it yet and they might never discover it. We already have a team in pursuit with orders to destroy the Sword if necessary, that situation is as dealt with as it can be for the time being."

"Then what should we do," Ronny demanded. "We have to do something!"

"Find out how to return to our normal selves. Regain our human, or human approximate, bodies and the connection to the Power. Defeat whatever evil caused this entire mess and _then_ go after the Sword."

"No." Trent joined those standing but he didn't shout or scream. "No matter what you say, I'm going after Kira. I can't let her do this without me."

"Me too." Conner stood soon followed by Ethan, "And me."

Dr. O stood too, "I'd never let a friend go alone."

Wild Force, Lightspeed, RPM, Zeo and the Alien Rangers quickly stood too, demanding the chance to go and aid their teammates. Then the rest of the Rangers joined in, all clamoring to go and help.

Dr. K was silent, as were the rest of the mentors there. She watched Zordon watch the Rangers argue with him. He seemed to be both proud of the Rangers fierce dedication and annoyed at it at the same time. But where she would be demanding, he was silent. He wouldn't force the Rangers to listen to him, he wouldn't even strongly suggest it. He was content to give advice and let them decide. She exchanged glances with Dimitria, who seemed sad, and the Mystic Mother, who was obviously angry.

The Mystic Mother nodded at her and raised her voice and hands, "Enough!" She had to shout a few more times before the Rangers quieted down. She glared at them, looking so much like her old Rita self, "Really Rangers, arguing? _Now_, of all times! Give a Ranger a monster and they will fight with gusto but give them _two_ and they'll demand the right to fight both at the same time! Rangers!, you are better than this!" She calmed down, actually smiling at them and thus losing any similarity with Rita, "A group of four of you may go after the six already sent, I'll leave it to you to decide who."

There was almost another squabble until Trent, Carter, Karone and Gemma raised their hands at the same time and loudly shouted, "I'm going."

"Fine then." Mystic Mother surveyed the rest of the Rangers, "As for the rest of you, sit down and listen for once!" She rubbed her forehead, "I swear you people give me headaches sometimes." She motioned at Zordon, "Has this wizard ever steered you wrong?" When the Rangers didn't answer her, she nodded, "That's right, _never._ He's willing to die to keep the universe safe, to keep you safe, and you want to argue with him." This stirred up a few angry mumblings but the Mystic Mother quieted them with her next words, "If the monster grows, what do you do?"

The Rangers instantly understood. If the monster grows, you grow too. Call up the Zords or, if it comes to it, combine the Zords into an even bigger one. It never mattered how many Rangers attacked an enlarged monster, if it was bigger than them, they couldn't win until they were on the same level as the monster. The Competent Crew had a weapon that could destroy everything, in other words, the monster could grow. It could grow huge. If it turned out that the CC discovered the Noonday Singularity, even if they didn't have the Sword to lead them straight to it, there needed to be Power Rangers ready to stop them. And while they still considered themselves Power Rangers, their abilities had been weakened or completely removed when they lost their connection to the Power. They wouldn't be able to do much good against the Psycho Rangers or A-Squad until it was restored. Like Zordon had said, they would try but they would fail.

The Rangers _very_ grudgingly accepted this logic.

The main issue settled, Zordon turned his attention to the bewildered villains who were wondering why they had been allowed to learn this terrible secret. "Those of you who drink from the blackened cup have done nothing but scheme and plot since you arrived. Even while someone was gravely injured, you attempted to take advantage of the situation."

The villains winced. Being reminded of their latest failure was not pleasant. Their attempt to plunder the Rangers weapon storage had not gone as planned and had ended with them being locked in a desk drawer for most of the night.

Zordon continued, "But you should have the chance to redeem yourselves."

The Rangers erupted in anger. They wouldn't turn good, the Rangers insisted, evil can't be changed! They'll always be selfish and cruel and unredeemable!

Without saying a word, Green Tommy, Pink Kat, Trent, Merrick, Blake, Hunter, Camilla, Jarrod, Ryan and Dillon, all Rangers who at one time had fought their friends left their various teams and walked to join the group of villains. They stared silently back at their comrades. Stunned, the furious Rangers were again forced to reconsider their gut instinct. Shamed, they nodded and quieted down. The former evil Rangers didn't rejoin the others but scattered themselves among the villains and turned their attention back to Zordon.

"Will you help us," Zordon asked, keeping his voice steady even though he was not completely convinced this was the right thing to do.

The villains sat frozen, as if they were surrounded by a swarm of poisonous insects. A few of them seriously considered this offer. What had villainy ever done for them besides get them kicked around? Then Lord Zedd stood, drawing all attention to himself.

He laughed. He laughed loudly and with enthusiasm. He laughed so long that Trip started to nod off. Finally he wound down, still chuckling every few word, "Are you, haha, serious? Haha, I am the Master of Evil, the, haha, Lord of all Darkness. I will conquer the universe!" He paused to breath, "Haaaaahahahaha! And you want me to help you, haha, do-gooders stop someone from destroying what gives you your power?" He pointed at Zordon, "I think you're insane!" With one final dismissive laugh, he turned and sauntered away. Rita stood and followed, glaring hatred at anyone around. Most of the villains followed Lord Zedd but not before expressing their disdain for all things good and right.

However, a brave few remained. Goldar, Elgar, Villamax, Kegler, Zen-Aku were the only evil ones who remained after the other villains left. Hesitantly Villamax stood, "We will help, because it is the right thing to do." Kelgar, Zen-Aku and, surprisingly, Goldar nodded.

He nudged Elgar who started, looking around in surprise, "What?"

"We were just stating our intention to assist the Rangers defeat our mysterious foe. You stayed and so you are now bound by oath to help as well."

Elgar, who had really just fallen asleep, stared at him, "Huh?"

* * *

"Karone!" Andros ran towards his sister. "Karone, you can't do this!"

Karone sighed, she had wondered how long it would take for him to protest. "I'm going Andros, you're not going to stop me."

"But it's dangerous!"

Karone's temper flared but she still didn't look at him, intent on changing her suit from plastic to cloth to plastic until it was comfortable, "I am a Power Ranger too, Andros! This suit is not an accident, not a fluke. I'm a big girl."

"But Karone!"

She sighed finally facing him, "Listen, I have to help Astronema. I might be the only one who can."

"But last time you tried, you failed."

"Yeah I know but I also know how it feels to be her. I wouldn't want to leave anyone feeling like that if I can do anything to help them." She shivered, "It was so…lonely. So I'm going to help her, even if she doesn't want it." She turned and started to walk away, "See you later Andros. And thanks, you know, for not giving up on me when I was her." When he muttered something, she turned and grinned, "Love you bro!"

Andros blushed and looked away, "Yeah, love you too."

* * *

*AN*

Whoo! *happy dance* 20 chapters and we're just getting started! I knew this would be on the longer side but dang! So yeah, thanks for all of you who've stuck by as I slowly got a grasp on the material, characters and plot. I hope it'll just keep getting better from here!

*AN2*

A very special thanks to the magnificent reviewers whom I really appreciate:

Ghostwriter – First to review and the ever flipping Phantom… Ranger

Ana Shadow Wolf – Brilliant Author of the Shadow… Ranger

JasonTKD – JasonTKD FTW… Ranger

aznphoenix95 – future seeing Phoenix… Ranger

piplupm – Wisher for the addition of the season of the Samurai… Ranger

Michelle the Editor – Rocking Review… Ranger

Numbervania – Number-themed Knowledge… Ranger

*CL*

Dr. K – Mentor for RPM Rangers

Zordon – Mentor for Mighty Morphin, Zeo

Bulk and Skull – Bullies/ Heroes from Mighty Morphin to Galaxy depending on the season

Red Jason – Red Mighty Morphin Ranger

King Mondo – Villain from Zeo

Divatox – Villain from Turbo

Rita – Villain from Mighty Morphin, Zeo, Turbo

Mesagog – Villain from Dino Thunder

Green Tommy – Green Ranger from Mighty Morphin

White Tommy – White Ranger from Mighty Morphin

Lord Zedd – Villain from Mighty Morphin, Zeo, Turbo

Ransik – Villain from Time Force

Dillon – Black RPM Ranger – Is part robot

Tanaya 7/15 – Villain from RPM, Dillion's sister

Astronema – Villain from In Space

Karone - Pink Galaxy Ranger, Astronema's future self

Zack – Black Mighty Morphin Ranger

Joel – Green Lightspeed Ranger

Maya – Yellow Galaxy Ranger

Adam – Green Zeo version and hereafter referred to as Green Adam

Scott – Red RPM Ranger

Cassie – Pink Turbo Ranger – hereafter referred to as Pink Cassie

Ronny – Yellow Overdrive Ranger

Trent – White Dino Thunder Ranger

Conner – Red Dino Thunder Ranger

Ethan – Blue Dino Thunder Ranger

Dr. O – Tommy as the Black Dino Thunder Ranger, always referred to as Dr. O and never Tommy

Dimitria – Mentor for Turbo Rangers

The Mystic Mother – Mentor for Mystic Force Ranger

Carter – Red Lightspeed Ranger

Gemma – Silver RPM Ranger

Pink Kat - Mighty Morphin Version – was an actual cat for awhile

Merrick – Wild Force Lunar Wolf Ranger – was possessed by Zen-Aku

Zen-Aku – Duke Org from Wild Force. Possessed a mask after he was sealed inside, possessed Merrick for awhile.

Blake - Ninja Storm Navy Thunder Ranger – was told the Rangers killed his and his brother, Hunter, 's parents

Hunter – Ninja Storm Crimson Thunder Ranger – ditto above

Jarrod – Jungle Fury Lion Ranger - Was possessed by Dai Shi who was evil

Camille – Jungle Fury Chameleon Ranger – was evil but chose to save Jarrod once he recovered from being possessed

Ryan – Lightspeed Titanium Ranger was told his father let him fall off a cliff and was raised by Diabolico

Andros - Red In Space Ranger, Karone's brother


	21. Chapter 21: The Chase

Chapter 21 – Chase

"I am certain that they would run that way!" Trey pointed to the right, towards the lamp lit street. Simple houses lined the far side of the street, normally neat lawns strewn with bright yellow and orange leaves. Dozens of small, tidy bushes lined the walkway. If the Rangers had wanted too, they could feel the distinct chill in the air; fall was already well on its way to winter. When the Galaxy Rangers had first peeked their heads outside it had been in the midst of a very warm summer. So much time had passed since then.

"No, they went _this_ way," Flynn said pointing to the left, where Arthur's backyard was. A tall wooden fence blocked their view of the yard itself but they knew what it looked like. A pair of evergreens hiding among a dozen or so beautifully red oak trees.

"Why can't you just admit it? We've lost their trail." Kira sat down on a smooth rock, "We've been at this for an hour now and we haven't seen a single glimpse of them."

"Maybe if we go around the house one more time," Danny suggested. They had already gone around once, but it had taken most of the hour they had been searching. It wasn't that they took a long time to get places, although that was a problem. There had been a particularly vicious bluebird that had swooped down from nowhere and flew away with Corcus in its claws. They had been forced to climb up a tree and rescue poor Corcus. They don't think that the bird hadn't meant any harm, it flew away as soon as they got close. It had dropped Corcus into open air, he had been lucky to grab onto a thin twig and pull himself up to a branch. This had shown them that they had to watch out for animals now that they were so much smaller than they were used to.

"Ugh," Dana shook her head, "If I climb over that fence one more time, I'm going to tear it down."

"You had it easy," Corcus said with a snort. "I had to fly over it."

"Then what should we do," Danny asked. "Go back?"

"Start walking." Kira stood, "Maybe we'll find a clue."

"Wait," Trey said, quickly crouching next to clump of dying weeds. "Look." Across the street a group of shadows and one really bright red light were flitting from bush to bush. Trey grinned, "I told you they would be across the street."

Flynn frowned, "Yeah, just rub it in…"

* * *

"They're quicker than us," Danny said. Even with Vinjix to lug around, the group in front of them outmatched the Rangers at full speed. They were having a hard time keeping up, much less gain any ground. "I don't know if we can catch them."

"Then let's run faster," Kira said as she ran easily through the open grass.

"That's easy for you to say," Trey muttered. He sighed silently and forced his legs to move faster.

* * *

"How," Corcus asked, panting, as they stopped for a quick rest break. "How are they moving so quickly? If I had a two ton column of condescending metal, I'd have dropped to the ground in exhaustion by now."

"We're getting closer I think," Danny noted, watching to make sure the red light they had been following wasn't moving. "It's a good thing they've stopped as well."

"We could just attack them now," Trey suggested even though he seemed to be having a harder time than the rest. "They _must_ be as tired as we are."

Kira disagreed. "But we wouldn't be able to do anything while we're this tired. We'll have to take the Sword by stealth anyways, we couldn't take them head to head."

"So what, we just follow them? At the pace they're setting, we wouldn't last another hour. We can't keep this up." _He_ couldn't keep this up but he kept that part unsaid.

They had been running so long that the sun was beginning to rise and the streetlights were beginning to flicker off. The Rangers almost wished it would stay dark. Tracking the red light that emanated from Venjix's column was a lot easier in the dark. Now they would have to follow the small breaks in branches that the villains left while pushing through the bushes. They weren't the best at tracking, giant monsters were usually pretty easy to find, but they were getting better. The houses and lawns had over time given way to empty dirt roads and clumping trees. They were beginning to notice how leaves looked when something had been hauled across it or how over a dozen tiny feet broke the streams of grass.

Seeing the small red dot begin to move again, Danny let the others know and they wearily climbed to their feet. They may not have muscles to get sore anymore but they still felt the strain of having to move at high speeds for a long time.

Dana sighed, "If only we knew where they were going, we could find some other way there. A way that required a lot less running."

* * *

"How much further," A-Squad Blue asked. "I'm really getting tired of pulling this useless tin can around."

Venjix growled, "I am the only one in this group that can talk to machines. Without me, you would be lost in a day."

"Quiet, both of you," Astronema commanded, annoyed at their constant bickering. She turned to Psycho Red, "Are they still following us?"

Psycho Red smirked, "Yes, they think they staying hidden but a child could spot them without really trying."

"Do you think they'll try and follow us the whole way?"

"Or try and reclaim the Sword before then, yes."

Charlie snorted, "Oh, let's just get rid of them. I could take my team and take them out. Twenty seconds, tops."

"No," Astronema said. "We will let them follow us, and fend them off if they try to take the Sword. Once we find out what we were missing to make this stupid Sword work, we'll need a few Rangers around anyway."

Venjix spoke up, "And my body?"

"Yes Venjix, we know." Astronema sighed, this was about the fourth time he'd asked about his promised body. They were getting more than a bit annoyed. "We'll find you with a body when we get there. I have no doubt that you'll like one where we're going. From what you heard through that computer, this kid has the largest of toys in the area. Something will catch your fancy." She motioned for the others to keep going, "According to the map, we've still got a few hours journey." She paused, stroking the Sword of Light and smiling, "And let's slow down. We wouldn't want the Rangers to lose interest."

Red Psycho glanced at the Sword in Astronema's hand, noting how the color of the blade had darkened ever so slightly since leaving the child's house. Curious. But then, he reasoned, glancing at the moon lit sky, maybe it was simply the change in light. "All right everybody, move out."

* * *

"Ok, let's try and get that Sword now." Trey was tired. He was tired of walking, tired of running but most of all he was tired of letting these villains dictate his life. They needed the Sword back and they were going to get it. If only because it meant he wouldn't have to run anymore.

"Are you sure? Because I really don't feel like being tossed into a tree." Flynn had been tossed into many things, cars mostly, but he had never wanted a repeat performance of that particular pain.

"Well they've been stopping more and more so either they're fighting amongst each other, which would be great, or they're getting closer to where they're going and they're planning something. Either way, now is the time, I think."

"So it's a win win," Kira asked.

"Exactly."

"Hey," Dana commented, stretching her strangely sore arms, "I don't mean to be the one with the common sense here but Eric, Bridge, Shane, Karone and one of the _original_ Power Rangers couldn't beat them. We really don't have a chance of taking them on."

"Well we're already here," Danny said as he kept watch on the Psycho Rangers through the thick trees. "And we promised Zordon that we would get that Sword back."

"Does anybody have a plan then?"

"Not really," Kira admitted. "I'm not really the planning type. That's Ethan's territory."

Corcus grinned, "Sooooo, wing it?"

"Sure, why not."

"Can we at least plan something," Trey asked, daunted by the idea of blindly charging forward. "Winging it doesn't always work. Please?"

Kira shook her head, "But none of us are very good at it."

"Well, I'm not exactly up to Dr. K's standards of planning," Flynn said with a shrug. He grinned, "But I have to admit, I've had my moments."

"So you have a plan," Trey asked, relieved.

Flynn's grin faltered, "Well…not yet."

* * *

"If they don't do it soon," Charlie complained, "I'm going to go find back there and make sure they haven't died." Venjix's red light lit up but Charlie cut him off, "And if you tell me, _the best plans require patience_, one more time, I'm going to take that column of yours and throw it in a lake. Or ocean. Whichever's closer."

"Shhh," Astronema hissed. The group tensed, hearing a leaf crack somewhere around them. Astronema nodded subtly and they tried to act normal. Charlie and Venjix continued to fight, A-Squad Green and Blue continued to play rock-paper-scissors while the rest laid back on the piles of leaves, napping to all appearances.

They waited this way for a full minute before they heard another leaf crackle and numerous something's fell from the sky.

A-Squad Yellow kicked one with his foot in confusion, "Acorns?"

Then they were attacked. Sharp claws and brown fur. Furry brown tails and dark, beady black eyes. They were being swarmed and were quickly overwhelmed.

"What are these monsters," Psycho Yellow screamed, fighting away one of the beasts. She tried to run but an acorn hit her square in the head and the thing behind her clawed her aside to reach it.

"They're squirrels," A-Squad Blue shouted back, leaping gracefully over a log to get away from the pack. "But I've never seen them attack people before!" He ducked down into a hole in the log, hiding.

Psycho Yellow screamed, desperately trying to keep away from the sharp claws, "Well I'm betting it's because _we aren't really people anymore!_" She tried to join A-Squad Blue but he shoved her back into the open where the same squirrel clawed her into a tree.

They fought, harder than then they had ever fought the Rangers. These animals were larger than them, stronger than them and, even worse, _determined_. Squirrels are cute creatures but in the months leading up to winter, if there's food involved, they can turn nasty and territorial. The Psycho Rangers had never seen these furry animals before but they soon learned to respect them.

The pair of Green's teamed up back to back but were unable to keep a single speedy squirrel at bay but failed when A-Squad Pink stumbled into them, tossed by one of the other animals. Psycho Black joined them and the four of them were able to keep on the offensive, forcing one squirrel to turn and run.

"Gah!" Astronema tried to shove one of the giant beasts away but it was so much larger than her that she failed and was clawed across the face for her trouble. As she struggled to her feet, she called out to Psycho Red, who appeared as if teleported.

He scowled and stared at the hungry animal, eyes bright and burning with rage. He focused his ever burning hatred into one single word, "_No._"

Overwhelmed, the poor squirrel instantly wilted and fled. It had never before encountered a force like that thing behind it. All its little brain knew was that figure was bad news and it needed to get far, far away.

It was another five minutes before the group could run the three other squirrels off. During the process of ridding their area of the many acorns that had caused the attack, they noticed that the reason for their flight was missing. The Sword of Light had been stolen. Again.

* * *

The Rangers laughed as they ran, their spirits buoyed by their sudden and unexpected victory.

"Did you _see_ the way they folded? That Blue one hid while the others tried to fight. I bet they're still back there fighting." Dana laughed, "Squirrels…brilliant Flynn, really brilliant."

"Thank you, thank you," Flynn said, attempting to bow while jumping a large fallen branch.

"And," Corcus added, turning his head to talk to the other Rangers behind him, "when Kira threw that acorn and hit the Yellow one…priceless!"

Kira grinned, "It was the least I could do. She's a disgrace to the color yellow!"

"This thing is really sweet," Danny said as he swung it in front of him, taking off a thin branch without any effort. "I wonder if Zordon could make me one too."

"Doubt it," Trey said, breathlessly. "He acted like it was one of a kind."

Corcus dropped back from the front of the group to join the conversation, "Naw. I bet there's tons of these things." He leaned in closer to examine the Sword, "It looks like any other sword. Maybe a bit shinier."

"Well, we should be able to get this back of Zordon," Kira said. "We have a head start."

"Yeah," Trey said, through his gulps for air, "but so did they when they first started and we had trouble catching them."

There was a long pause after this observation while the Rangers let this information process. "Sooo," Corcus drawled, "run faster?"

The Rangers exchanged glances and sped up. They all knew that if it came down to a face to face fight, _without_ squirrels to assist them, they would lose.

* * *

Kira watched Trey begin to fall behind, he was obviously reaching the end of his rope and wouldn't be able to keep up with them much longer. They weren't going to make it back at this rate. "We'll have to stop and hide."

Flynn who had been running next to Trey, making sure he didn't just drop from exhaustion, nodded. "We'll slow down and find somewhere."

"Why?" Corcus hadn't seen Trey slowing down.

Kira fumbled to come up with a reason. She couldn't draw attention to Trey's inability to keep up, it would be rude.

Danny leaped in, "I'm tired and I don't think I can go much further."

Corcus rolled his eyes but didn't say anything.

The group dashed quickly to the left, away from the straight path they'd been following, and slowed down to a walk, looking for any place to hide.

"Are we ready to go now?" Trent was eager to get going but one member of their group seemed determined to slow them down.

Gemma grinned at him, "Yeah, yeah, I'm ready now." She shifted her backpack on her shoulders, "I just had to get a few things."

"Toys," Karone asked, curious.

Gemma's grinned widened, "A few."

"Come on," Trent urged, shifting impatiently. He glanced back at Arthurs room, suddenly feeling nervous. This was a whole new world and this room was the only place he'd been. Supposedly it was similar to his own world but who was to say the trees actually ate people in this world?

Carter clapped him on the back, "Calm down kid. We're going."

"We need to go faster!"

"Then let's go!" Carter and Trent looked around but Gemma and Karone were nowhere around them. They leaned out the window and saw the pair on the ground, Gemma waved up at them, "I thought you were in a hurry!"

Trent stared at them, "How did they get down there so fast?" He turned to Carter to get his assessment but found he wasn't there either. Instead he found Carter plummeting to the ground, yelling in delight. He landed, stumbled a bit, then caught his footing.

Carter looked back up the window, "There are _some_ advantages to being plastic. Coming slow-poke?"

Flashing a quick grin, Trent leapt out the window.

* * *

*AN*

Will the Rangers be able to keep the Sword out of evil's hands? Will Team 2 be able to catch up and find them? Or will Psycho Red and Astronema discover the Sword's true power and destroy the universe?

Odds(in order asked): 15%, 10%, 75%

Hm….don't like the look of those odds. Here's hoping something finally goes right for the Rangers in the next chapter!

*CL*

**Search and Destroy Team 1 **

Dana – Pink Lightspeed Ranger

Corcus – Black Alien Ranger

Danny – Black Wild Force Ranger

Flynn – Blue RPM Ranger

Trey – original Gold Zeo Ranger

Kira – Yellow Dino Thunder Ranger

**The Competent Crew(CC)**

Red Psycho Ranger – Villain from In Space

Pink Psycho Ranger

Blue Psycho Ranger

Black Psycho Ranger

Yellow Psycho Ranger

Astronema – Villain from In Space

Ecliptor – Villain from In Space

Venjix - Villain from RPM

A-Squad Red(Charlie) – Villain from SPD

A-Squad Blue

A-Squad Green

A-Squad Yellow

A-Squad Pink.

**Search and Destory Team 2**

Karone – Pink Galaxy Ranger

Gemma – Silver RPM Ranger

Trent – White Dino Thunder Ranger

Carter – Red Lightspeed Ranger


	22. Chapter 22: The Lion Ranger, the Rug and

Chapter 22 – The Lion Ranger, the Rug and the Wardrobe

Sitting on the window sill, Elizabeth 'Z' Delgado, Yellow SPD Ranger, watched the sunrise. How long had it been, she wondered, since she'd seen her own sun? Her own sky? She fought hard to protect that sky so it seemed fair that maybe she deserved to actually look at it every once in awhile. Not that this sun looked any less yellow, or the sky less blue; it just wasn't hers.

Behind her, Billy, Dr. K and Trip were arguing about how they were supposed to get their powers back. Billy and Dr. K had brought Trip into their duo because they couldn't seem to reach a consensus with just the two of them and needed a third opinion. Trip's voice changed octaves every few seconds but he seemed to actually understand what was being said and was able to articulate his ideas and feelings. He had it together more than usual.

The attack on Hissta's home had been postponed for two days. This was to allow the Search and Destroy Teams time to recover the Sword of Light and return. If they did not return in those days, Hissta would take the Rangers and their villainous allies and try to return themselves to normal. Hissta had not known if only those in her world would be changed or if everyone who had been effected would, regardless of where they were. Dr. K had insisted that once she knew what had been done to them, she could return everyone to normal but Zordon had insisted on giving the S&D teams the opportunity to complete their mission.

A ways to her left, Turbo Ashley and Kimberly were talking with Hissta. Every once in a while the sound of Hissta's voice would drift over and make her skin crawl. She had grown up around non-humans, her direct superior was a dog for goodness sake! But there was something unsettling about Hissta, something that made her want to run and hide and tear her apart at the same time. Strange. Maybe if she got to know the creature better, the feeling would go away?

Before she could implement this plan, Delphine, walked up to her and sat down on the window sill. "Thinking?"

Z sighed, leaning back, "Yeah. Life, the Universe, giant monsters."

"Normal things, huh?"

"Pretty much."

Delphine stared out the window, enjoying the warmth. "You know, I've decided that being plastic isn't completely terrible. I don't have to stay hydrated, for example, and I can sit here in the sun for as long as I want." She couldn't do that in their world, she needed a constant supply of water to stay hydrated. And while Billy had devised a system for them to stay above water for various lengths of time, she had never had the luxury of enjoying the life warmth of the sun. But now she did. "Isn't life so strange sometimes? The bad satiations always seem to have a silver lining."

"You mean, like how we probably won't age."

Delphine smiled, "Yeah, there's that. We could stay yooooung and beaut-iful forever." They glanced at each other and burst out laughing. Delphine continued the joke, "How about how the guys all have _ripped_ abs, even if they didn't before."

Z snorted, "Even Gruumm."

"Bleh," Delphine said with a grin, "we need to get back to normal. _Now._"

The discussion behind them was turning into an argument. That in of itself was odd, Trip was usually the nicest kid around and Billy was a soft-hearted guy. Dr. K usually overwhelmed her opponents with logic and didn't have to resort to raising her voice. But when faced with three equally intelligent people, this tactic was failing. They could hear Dr. K.'s voice rising above the others, drowning them out.

"Well, they're working on it," Delphine said brightly, pointing behind her without looking.

"No, they're fighting about it. Completely different."

"What about Hissta, doesn't she know how to get our powers back?"

Z thought back about the conversation she'd caught snatches of , "Not that I could hear. But then, they're mostly talking about clothes and such."

"We could go ask her?"

Z glanced over at where the monster and two Rangers were laughing and found herself not wanting to ruin that moment, "No. I think this is the first time in her three day existence that she's had any fun. We'll let the smarties figure out how to get our powers back." She stood, "Is anybody working on finding our lost equipment?"

Delphine stood too, "Not that I'm aware of."

"Well, let's get some people together and keep looking. Gruumm got his powers back by finding the only equipment he lost and he had to find it somewhere."

* * *

Z kicked down the door to the Flower Garden. It fell pathetically to the side. This was not the first time it had been assaulted this way. "Gruumm!"

Gruumm raised his head from the table, "Go away."

"Not until you tell me how you got your eye beams back," she demanded, planting herself next to his table.

Gruumm muttered a few unkind things under his breath then put his head back on the table, "Leave me alone. I'm not going to help you get your powers back and that's final."

Z sighed, "Told you he wouldn't tell us this easily."

"But still," Red Jason said, stepping into Gruumm's sight with a grin, pounding a fist into open palm, "It was worth a try."

Gruumm sneered at him, "Little Red Ranger, you don't scare me."

Z suppressed a giggle and tried to keep her voice serious, "Oh, hey, Jason?"

"Yeah?"

"Aren't you the leader of the first ever team of Power Rangers?"

"Yeah."

Gruum sneer widened, "Are you trying to frighten me, Little Red Ranger? It will not work. Your team may have been the first but you were by no means the strongest. You are all pathetic and weak without you powers!"

"Weren't you the one who took down Goldar and your friend, the Green Ranger, while he was evil? _Unmorphed?_"

"Yeah."

Gruumm's eyes widened and he started to look a little less confident.

"And then you took down the very same evil Green Ranger while he was possessed by the, admittedly fake, Sword of Darkness that made him ten times stronger than you?"

Jason shrugged, looking like it was no big deal, "Yeah."

Gruumm stood, trying to regain his composure, "I'm not…"

Z interrupted him, "And is said Green Ranger standing just outside the door? In a _really bad_ mood?"

Jason was desperately trying not to grin, "Yeah."

Gruumm swallowed loudly, clearing his throat, "Um, as I was saying…I just so happened to be in the child's parents room…"

* * *

Green Tommy, Red Jason, Z, Delphine and Chad Lee, Blue Lightspeed Rescue Ranger, snuck down the hall. Arthur's mother was still at home but they could hear the TV and could only assume she was in there.

Their lookout, Cole, tested out an alert signal. The sound of a roaring lion filled the hall. The Rangers frantically gestured at Cole to stop. He did so and they listened for any new sounds. They still heard the TV but now they also heard the sound of Arthur's mother snoring.

Chad glared at Cole, "You don't get to pick the signal anymore."

"It's the only sound I'm good at making," Cole said with a shrug.

"How about," Z suggested, "a simple _whistle_."

Jason shrugged, "Do you know how to whistle Lion Kid?"

Cole nodded, "Yes sir!"

Jason looked at him, "Why do you keep saying that? Stop calling me sir." Tommy snickered and Jason turned his attention to him, "Did you tell him to do that?"

Tommy grinned widely, "No but Dr O told me about your super special Red Ranger mission with him. Apparently you and Col are great friends now."

Cole was practically dancing in excitement now, "He actually said that about me?" He grinned at Jason too, "We're gonna be such pals!"

Delphine interrupted, peeking out from the door to the parents room, "Are you guys coming or what?"

Gratefully, Jason bolted after her.

* * *

Jason and Tommy pushed the door completely open so they could have some light.

Delphine motioned to them, "Over here." She was standing on top of a giant footlocker at the end of the large bed.

They climbed up to join her. Z pointed to the rug the footlocker was sitting on, that stretched to the edges of the furnature, "Gruumm said that his left horn sitting there, on the edge of the rug. He said that when he put it up to where it was supposed to go, it just reattached itself and he found that he could shoot eye beams again."

"So of course," Chad said with false enthusiasm, "the most sensible thing to do once you have your relatively weak eye beams back again is too try and take on over a hundred Power Rangers. Makes sense, right?"

"Apparently it made sense to him," Jason muttered, looking for anything out of the ordinary. He shrugged, "It's just a rug. I don't see any burn marks or portal scorching. Not even foot impressions. This rug looks brand new."

Tommy stared at Jason, a slight smile tugging at his face, "Since when are you a rug expert?"

Jason protested, "I'm not! I'm just pointing out the obvious! I think I've seen enough things randomly appear and explode to know what the aftermath looks like. Or the absence of one in this case."

"So, does this mean his missing horn came with the rug," Delphine asked. "Or that this rug is some kind of nexus of universes, the center of all things important?" She paused and added, "Because that sounds kind of unlikely."

"Doubt it," Jason said with a shrug. "Most likely just a new rug."

"Did Gruumm mention a rug?"

"No. I really don't think the rugs important," Z insisted. "Can we move on from the rug?"

"I don't know," Tommy said. "Sometimes it's been the little things like this that turn into monsters. So why can't the rug be some kind of… nexus?"

Chad watched with amusement as the other Rangers argued on the importance of the floor decorations. Ruefully he shook his head and started examining the rest of the room. Beyond the apparently decisive rug, there was little to nothing else covering the hard wood floor. There was another door in the room, one he assumed led to a bathroom or closet. The rest was filled with furniture and knickknacks. A large wardrobe sat near the corner of the rug in question, dark and ominous, with enormous carvings of a crown, a tree and a sunrise. Beside the wardrobe was a pair night stands, littered with random objects and framed photos of Arthur and his family at various places. On the walls hung even more of these pictures, showing smiling faces and happy times. Above the bed was a large picture of the parents on their wedding day. A large uncomfortable looking chair was in the other corner, next to the hallway door.

He could see no place to hide in plain sight the decapitated horn of an evil tyrant. No place it would have appeared from. Why would it have been here? He and his fellow Rangers had all appeared in the same place so it made sense for their stuff to be similarly found. So if Gruumm's horn had appeared alone, would the other pieces of gear also emerge in random places?

The rug discussion began to wind down, with Z, Jason, Delphine taking the stance that it wasn't import while Tommy remained sure that there was something strange about it. But just as Tommy was about to admit that maybe the rug was just a rug when Chad noticed something glint under the wardrobe. It was larger than he was but he would know that shape anywhere, "Hey, that's my Thermo Blaster…" Feeling like he had walked into a cold fog, he jumped down and started slowly walking towards it.

"What?" Jason and the Rangers stopped arguing with announcement. "Chad! Where are you going?"

Chad pointed towards the wardrobe, "It's my Thermo Blaster."

Jason stared in the same direction. "Chad, I don't see anything." He exchanged concerned glances with the other Rangers, "Are you ok?"

Chad continued to walk, "But, it's my Thermo Blaster."

The almost monotone way he was saying this really had the Rangers freaked out, "Chad, why don't you just come back over here," Delphine suggested slowly.

"Yeah Chad," Tommy said, "Just stop freaking us out."

Chad had almost reached the wardrobe now, "It's really my Thermo Blaster."

Z leaped off the footlocker, "Chad! Stop!"

Chad was now at the wardrobe and he did stop. But not for long. With his eyes he could see his Thermo Blaster towering above him, as bright and shiny as the day he first got it from Ms. Fairweather. It was probably actual size, as large as it would be in real life. He reached towards it, somehow knowing it was the right thing to do.

Just as Z reached him, his hand touched the handle. Light exploded everywhere.

* * *

When the light cleared, Chad found himself holding his Thermo Blaster, now perfectly able to fit in his hand. Smiling he turned it over in his hand, "Hello old friend."

Z stared, "It's really it. But…we couldn't see it." She pushed an annoyed hand through her hair, "This place is so weird."

Jason, Tommy and Delphine ran over. Delphine took the Blaster, tossing it in her hand, "It's real all right."

Tommy took it next, "Chad, is this the only piece of you missing? Can you morph?"

Chad's eyes widened, "Yeah, it was! I can morph again!" Then he grinned and held out his Rescue Morpher, "Lightspeed Rescue!" Nothing happened. His helmet didn't magically form around his skull, his suit remained plastic, his weapons, beyond the one he was holding, didn't instantly appear.

The Rangers sighed.

"Of course it wouldn't be that simple," Z complained loudly. "Why would it ever be that! freaking! simple!"

* * *

Dana examined the weapon, "It's one of the Thermo Blasters alright. And you found it under a wardrobe?" She handed it back to Chad, "Strange place."

Dr. K shook her head, "No, it's not strange. Apparently, in Earth's past, such pieces of furniture were commonly used to transport children to different universes. Haven't you ever seen that documentary? It was one of the few I was allowed to see while in Alphabet Soup."

"Um…Dr. K," Chad started, "that was just…"

"Don't," Trip interrupted, whispering, "She wants to think it's a documentary. Let her. Trust me."

Chad shrugged, "Ooooook."

Cole, who they had relieved from being lookout, gently reached out and poked the Blaster, "Looks real."

Dana sighed, "It _is_ real." She frowned, "But why was it in Arthur's parents room? Did we search the rest of the room?"

Jason nodded, "Every last inch. We opened every drawer, checked in every crack."

"This is getting outside of strange," Billy said. "I mean, I could understand if everything was in the same place, but two things appearing at different times? In slightly different places? It simply does not make sense."

"And what," Tommy asked, "about our situation does?"

"Good point."

Trip was looking contemplative, "Z?"

"Yeah?"

"You said Chad was acting strange when he first mentioned seeing it. Right?"

"Yeah, like he was sleep walking or something."

Trip nodded, "Chad, what did the weapon look like when you spotted it?"

"It was huge, like as large as it would be in real life."

Trip grinned, "We need to go back there."

* * *

Back in the room, Chad showed everyone exactly where it was sitting. "Right here."

Trip examined the area, still grinning. He poked the underside of the wardrobe, "Of course!"

Dr. K raised an eyebrow, "What are you getting at Time Force Green? This was not _the_ Wardrobe, it can't be."

Trip chuckled, now poking the wall that the wardrobe leaned against, "Ah, but it is."

Dr. K frowned then walked back out from under it, looking up at the ornate designs. She stared at it for a full five minutes before rejoining the group, "So it is."

Trip knocked on the wall, head to it, listening. "I remember seeing that…uh…documentary when I was younger. It was always one of my favorites. The talking animals especially." His tapping paused as he remembered his owl friend, Circuit, and wondered where he was. He shook himself out of it, "The wardrobe was a portal to the magical lands of Narnia. It could not only take people to Narnia but it could also bring them back too."

Dr. K caught a thread of what Trip was thinking, "Home?"

Trip turned, eyes bright, "Home."

* * *

For the second time in a day, the Rangers again gathered. The villains who had remained hostile to the Rangers had not been invited. This time, instead of Zordon, it was Trip who stood before them. But where Zordon's news had mostly been cautionary and a warning of possible future events, his was whole-heartedly good news.

"I can get a few of us to _one_ of our universes," he proudly announced.

The uproar was immediate and immense. Rangers were excitedly questioning how this was possible. They want to know when they could go home and somehow thought that this would also give them their powers.

Trip set this misconception right, "No, you will not get your powers back if you were in your own world. The connection to the Power is still broken."

"So, we'd be in one of our world, a world full of monsters and evil, without powers!" Master Phant scoffed, "No!"

Trip sighed, "Listen, there's a chance, a small chance, that some of us can go into a universe that we know. Once there, they could get help! They could find how we were stolen from that universe. We could attack this evil from two sides!"

"Where would we end up," Mack asked.

Trip hesitated, "I actually don't know that." He gestured, "Look, the properties of the Wardrobe link one world to another. When it was taken from its home universe to ours, the link with Narnia was severed but it was still trying to fulfill its function. That's where we come in. We appeared and the Wardrobe somehow noticed that we were also not from this universe. So it's trying to fulfill its function, for us. It's providing a link home." He held up a finger, "The question is, which of our homes did it connect too."

"SPD, right," Vida asked. "I mean, Gruumm was the first to go near it and he found his horn. It must be theirs."

"Ah but Chad Lee, from Lightspeed Rescue, just today found his Thermo Blaster. So it also connected to his."

"It could be random," Kai pointed out. "Or focus on whoever's closest."

Trip shrugged, "I don't know. I don't know how the wardrobe decides where to connect and I don't know how it finds what we're missing in our universes and brings it into this one. But it does and we should take advantage of it."

Dr. K spoke up, "You propose sending more of our friends into the unknown?" She glared at Trip, "Not from my team you're not."

Trip backed away, "I was going to ask for six volunteers." When practically every hand flickered into the air, he amended, "None from the same team. So there's a better chance of someone being in the right universe and knowing the situation."

"Why six," Nova asked. "Why not one from each team?"

"Well, I don't want to stress the wardrobe as it seems used to only transporting four. Aren't there normally from five to six Rangers on a team anyways? It seemed like a good number."

"Makes sense, I guess."

After a few hours intense debate it was decided that seven Rangers would go through the wardrobe.

Billy Cranston, Mighty Morphin was chosen to handle any technical problems. He was joined by Turbo Tommy who was chosen for his memories of the Turbo and Zeo years; Chad Lee, Lightspeed Rescue; Alex, Time Force; Vida Rocca, Mystic Force: Mack Hartford, Operation Overdrive and Summer Landsdown, RPM. Summer had had to take Dr. K aside and have a chat before Dr. K agreed that she should go.

The seven Rangers lined up in front of the wardrobe, taking all their gear with them. Most of the other Rangers were assembled on the two sides of the wardrobe, holding the strings that would pull the doors apart. Cole was back on lookout duty.

Trip reminded them of their deadline, "We'll wait three more days. That should give you plenty of time to find the portal and figure out how to use it. If you miss that dead line, for any reason, we'll still be attacking. Once we finish off whoever's on the other side, we'll use her machine to get you out of there. So don't be afraid we'll just leave you there."

"Got it," Alex said, saluting.

Zordon was rolled forward, "Go now Rangers. And may the Power protect you, wherever you may be."

The two lines of Rangers pulled on the ropes, the doors to the Wardrobe opened.

Mack lead the way first, climbing on Turbo Tommy's shoulders and crawling into the Wardrobe. Billy, Vida, Summer, Chad and Alex followed suit. Together they pulled Tommy up. They waved to their friends and, side by side, began to forge their way through the shoes and coats.

Dr. K waved and the Rangers, how switched sides with their ropes, pulled again. The doors to the wardrobe closed. "Do you think they'll be ok," she asked Trip. When he didn't answer, she glanced to find that he had fallen asleep, his face pale and drawn. The strain of keeping his thoughts cohesive and together even though he had lost so much of himself for that long must have really taken a toll on him. With a sigh, she picked him up and handed him over to Jen.

Jen smiled gently, looking down at him, "Poor kids working too hard." She took him and walked back to what remained of her team, "We'll take care of him."

* * *

*AN*

Where will they end up, they _literally_ could go anywhere! When I originally started this story, I didn't plan this part. It just sort of happened but I like where it's headed!

So not only people but things were stolen from the multi-verses… I bet this will be important.

Was the whistling sequence put in solely so I could keep use Lion Ranger in the title…most likely.

You know, I'm finding it easier to keep up with all these characters once they're all split up like this. So let's recap who's where:

**Search and Destroy Team 1**

Dana – Pink Lightspeed Ranger

Corcus – Black Alien Ranger

Danny – Black Wild Force Ranger

Flynn – Blue RPM Ranger

Trey – original Gold Zeo Ranger

Kira – Yellow Dino Thunder Ranger

**Search and Destroy Team 2**

Karone – Pink Galaxy Ranger

Gemma – Silver RPM Ranger

Trent – White Dino Thunder Ranger

Carter – Red Lightspeed Ranger

**Mystery Universe Team**

Billy Cranston - Mighty Morphin

Tommy – Turbo but remembers Zeo

Chad Lee - Lightspeed Rescue

Alex - Time Force

Vida Rocca - Mystic Force

Mack Hartford - Operation Overdrive

Summer Landsdown - RPM

**Villainous Allies –**

Elgar – Turbo

Goldar – Mighty Morphin – Kinda

Villamax- Lost Galaxy

Kegler – Lost Galaxy

Zen-Aku – Wild Force

***CL***

Z – SPD

Billy – Mighty Morphin

Dr. K – RPM

Trip – Time Force

Ashley – Turbo

Kimberly – Mighty Morphin

Delphine – Alien

Gruumm - Villian SPD

Jason – Mighty Morphin

Tommy – Mighty Morphin

Chad Lee - Lightspeed Rescue

Cole – Wild Force

Dana – Lightspeed Rescue

Master Phant – Jungly Fury

Mack – Operation Overdrive

Kai - Galaxy

Nova – SPD

Billy - Mighty Morphin

Turbo Tommy – Turbo

Chad Lee - Lightspeed Rescue

Alex - Time Force

Vida - Mystic Force

Mack - Operation Overdrive

Summer - RPM

Zordon – Mighty Morphin

Jen – Time Force


	23. Chapter 23: When Worlds Collide

Chapter 23 – When Worlds Collide

"Ok, we're here! But where are we?" Mack pulled himself off the ground and looked around at all the trees, "I don't recognize it."

"Well," Vida said sarcastically, "I would expect that one tree looks like the next." She motioned at the lush green trees towering above them, "And one forest looks exactly the same as all the others."

"Not really," Summer said, "but this definitely rules out my time. We only had one forest in Corinth's dome, for air, but I've never seen these kinds of trees in it before."

Mack smirked at Vida, "See, all trees don't look like the next."

Alex leapt to his feet, "Ok, we need to form a perimeter! Blue and Blue, spread out and scout for enemies!"

Billy and Chad exchanged glances. Billy raised his hand, "Um, are you sure you mean me? Because I'm not really all that good at scouting."

Tommy chuckled, "That's the understatement of the century there Billy. Although you did get slightly better at it by my time." He nodded at Mack and Summer, "Mack, you take Summer and Chad and head that way," he gestured with his hand, "Alex and I will go this way while Billy and Vida climb one of those trees and see if they can get a landmark. Everyone else, walk for about thirty minutes then, if you don't see anything, head back here and we'll decide where to go from there."

"Wait," Billy shouted, holding up a hand, startling the other Rangers. Billy never shouted or yelled. He had a hard time even raising his voice to be heard. He stared at the ground, "Something's wrong."

Tommy scanned their surroundings but didn't see anything out of the ordinary. No monster leapt from behind a tree, the ground wasn't shaking from the footsteps of something terrifying, a giant shadow didn't suddenly block out the sun. "What?"

Billy was now staring at the ground so intently that it should be bursting into flame, "Something's different." He knelt down a scooped up a handful of leaves that just barely fit his hand, "Something big. What is it?" He closed his hand and as the broken remains of the leaves filtered through his fingers and it hit him. With a gasp, he exclaimed, "We're back to normal!"

"What?"

Billy pointed to the large trees around them and to the leaves that covered the ground, "Look! _Look._"

Tommy frowned, his brain slowly coming to the same conclusion, "What…you're right. We're normal size." After being small and plastic for so long, it was suddenly a challenge to think of himself as anything different. He pinched his shoulder and felt a sharp pain not the dull kind they'd always felt while action figures, they weren't plastic anymore either. He looked at Billy, "How did that happen?"

Billy opened his mouth then closed it again. A very confused look spread over his face, "I have no idea." The look cleared and he waved a finger, "Unless…it must be an unexpected side effect of the Wardrobe. From what I remember from the books, when the children stumbled back into their own world the Wardrobe returned them to the state they had entered. Their natural state disregarding outside influences."

Alex took up the thought, also translating for the other Rangers, "So it returned us to how we should be, how we were, before the spell turned us into toys?"

"Precisely."

The cogs in Vida's brain skipped a notch, "What?"

Chad chuckled, "He says, we're normal."

"Didn't he say that the first time?" She didn't understand why the big words were necessary.

"Yeah but it wasn't as much fun to say it that way."

Feeling overwhelmed with joy, they exercised their excitement at being large again. Most of this consisted of kicking the trees, each other, and playfully leaping around in the leaves. After a few minutes, Alex, the only one not joining in, lost his patience, "Can we all act like adults? Please?" He waved at the sky where the sun had noticeably moved since their arrival, "Time is running out."

The Rangers nodded, except for Chad who just grinned, ashamed of their lapse in attention. There were more important things than their again normal heights. Mack, Summer and Chad nodded and started off, discussing the various possible locations they could be. Alex and Tommy walked in the other direction.

Left alone, Vida grinned at Billy, "See who can climb the highest?"

"Umm…sure." Billy knew he would lose but he wasn't going freak out in front of another Ranger, especially one he didn't know.

Vida raced towards the nearest pine tree and began to scramble up, using to the lower branches to pull herself up.

Billy found a nice oak that didn't seem to reach too far above him, it was hard to tell since the tree tops practically blended together, and slowly began his journey upward.

* * *

"Do you think every planet has forests," Mack asked as they trod over the leaves. "None of our alien friends seem surprised by them." They were wandering in no particular direction, not really expecting to find anything.

"I would think so," Chad said, "You have to have trees to breath. What do you think Summer?"

Summer shrugged, "I don't know. I've never been to another planet." She glanced up at the bright blue sky just barely visible through the dense trees, "Wouldn't mind it though. A whole new planet to explore, new wonders to see." She lowered her voice, "So much open space."

"Naw," Mack said. "I think this world still has plenty of wonders. I've been all around it looking for pieces of the Corona Aurora and I still can't wait to see more."

They came to the foot of a tall hill and stared upwards at its peak. "What do you think," Chad asked, "see what's at the top then head back?"

Sumer nodded, "Sure. How about we make it a race?" She didn't wait for an answer but sprinted up the hill.

Mack and Chad followed her, laughing.

A few minutes later Chad and Summer reached the top of the hill, panting. She'd forgotten how hard it was to be real. Running took a lot out of you, especially when you were out of practice. She could lose her breath and she felt her muscles burn from the effort.

Mack grinned, "I have to admit, I generally don't like being a robot but right now, it's not so bad."

Summer glared at him and Chad, "Yeah, well thanks for gloating."

Chad grinned too, "Don't look at me, I didn't say a word." He and Mack helped her to her feet and they looked out. The woods stretched in front of them, a few small mountains poking from the ground, not too distant. He noticed something strange sticking out of one of the mountains, obviously out of place with the dark shadows of the peaks, "Do you see that?"

Summer nodded, "Yeah. It kind of looks like a dome. Or five. Six?" She tilted her head, noting the odd tilt the object had to it, "Why is it at that weird angle?"

"Donno," Mack said. "But I bet this is important. Can you think of any of our times with strange big domes?"

Summer shrugged, "Mine but it only has one really large dome, this one's got like six. Unless they've built more in the time we were gone."

Realizing what that object was, Chad gasped loudly, stepping backwards in shock, "No…it couldn't be…"

Mack looked at her, "What?"

He turned and started running back down the hill, "Come on, we've got to go get the others!"

"Why? What is it," Summer asked, following him but finding it hard to keep up.

"Terra Venture!"

Mack stuttered, "Bu…but Terra Venture… isn't that a _giant space ship_?"

Chad smiled grimly, "Apparently, not anymore."

* * *

"You should not contradict me in front of the others," Alex said as they walked, holding his Chrono Blaster at the ready. "It's bad for morale."

Tommy, who was walking slightly behind him, sighed softly. "What do you mean," he asked, feigning ignorance.

Alex moved through the dead leaves like he was trying to be stealthy. "I am in charge of this expedition. As a fellow Red Ranger, I will take your opinions into account and weight them heavily but ultimately _I_ make the decisions. Do not contradict me in public."

Tommy shook his head, he really hadn't wanted to fight with Alex over this but had known this was probably coming. He had hoped they could come to some sort of agreement, work out their differences without confrontation. Apparently not. He attempted to sooth the well known cold temper, "Listen, Alex, I'm not going to fight you for leadership. I don't mind taking orders. Really." He hadn't always been in charge. He remembered all too well his inexperience while he was the Green Ranger. He may not be able to directly access those memories, but he could clearly remember the feeling of confusion and being so overwhelmed. He still hadn't thought himself ready to lead when he became the White Ranger but, luckily, Jason had been more than happy to help him learn. Maybe Jason had somehow sensed he would soon leave and had wanted to make sure his friends were in good hands.

Alex slowed and turned slowly, frowning. He didn't look like he believed Tommy. "You're _Tommy Oliver,_" he said emphasizing the name. "Even _I_ grew up on stories of you and I'm a thousand years into your future." He veered closer to Tommy, "Even if you don't formally give orders, everyone will listen to what you say over what I say because of who you are and everything you've done both as a Power Ranger and not. We _can't_ have that."

Tommy was really getting annoyed with Alex's attitude, "Why? Are you really so egotistical that you have to be in control at all times?"

Alex's mouth was hanging wide open. He closed it and scowled, "No. But I come from the year three thousand and I have studied the history books like no one else on my team. I know so much about all the Ranger teams, their strengths and weaknesses; about what they've gone through and what they will. Beyond that, I have had actual _tactical_ training, beyond fighting day to day monsters. I could lead the army of Rangers into battle and have every confidence that of who to send to do what. Right now, we are an army of seven and I am our _best_ bet at getting out of this situation but if the other Rangers don't listen to me, then what good is all my knowledge and experience?"

After thinking about this for a few minutes, mostly spent trying to understand why Alex kept referring to the Power Rangers as an army, Tommy nodded, "Like I said earlier, I have no intention of fighting with you about who was in charge. If you're right and the other Rangers do listen to me, I'll listen to you. But I don't think you are. I'm just one person, I couldn't be that important."

Alex shook his head, "It won't work like that." They would just think it was Tommy's idea. He turned his head slightly, he did have an ego. It wasn't huge, he generally thought himself somewhat understanding of others, but he couldn't stand the idea of someone else getting credit for his hard work. He didn't have anything personal against Tommy but he knew how much the other Rangers looked up to him. What else did he have now but his dignity? Jen had chosen his ancestor over him, his old team also preferred Wes. Only days ago he had drifted through the Ranger City, aimless, but now he had a purpose again. Sure, the Time Force Rangers were friendly to him when he had dropped in. But he was a stranger to them. He found closer friends with Scott from RPM, Carter from Lightspeed Rescue and Doggie Cruger from SPD. They spent most of their time sparring or embellishing on their battles but they had formed a tight bond over their long months of plastichood. But he wouldn't even pretend he had been happier with those few friends than he was now among strangers. This mission was his chance to again lead a team, to regain his self worth. "Please, just let me lead. Let me regain my dignity."

Tommy didn't know what to say. He had already admitted that Alex should be the leader. What else could he do, leave? "So, what? Should I just head off on my own?"

Alex waved his hands, "No, no. They would think that we fought and try to follow you. Just… when we get back to the others… don't…" He was having a hard time articulating what he wanted to say. He didn't want to be rude, but he could be blunt. "Don't do anything to appear in charge. Like that little comment earlier, don't do that."

Taken a back, Tommy simply shrugged, "Whatever man." They reached the edge of a cliff and stared out. An endless ocean spread in front of them as far as the eye could see. "Well," he said, seeing nothing of value, "let's go back."

Alex frowned, "Stop telling me what to do."

Now Tommy lost his temper, "Don't expect me to just roll over Alex! I am going to have my own opinions and I'm going to express them! If the other Rangers think I'd be a better leader, maybe they have a point!" He poked Alex in the chest, "Maybe I would be better!"

Alex pushed Tommy's hand away, "I thought we just went over this, I know more than you!"

"Yeah, well you have pretty pathetic way of expressing it!"

Alex fumed, he turned away from Tommy before he completely lost control. He stared waves crashing against the cliff, wrestling with his anger and frustration. But with his new angle, he noticed the sun glinting off something metal sitting almost hidden in a nearby cliff covered cove. He squinted, mind forgetting about the argument, "Do you see that?"

Tommy put his hand over his eyes to shield them from the glare of the sun, "Yeah, what is that?"

Alex leaned forward, careful to not topple off the edge, "It looks like a really big dome of some kind."

"Look familiar to you?"

"No," he sighed, "but I bet someone will recognize it if we're in their time. Come on, let's go back and tell them what we found." Alex turned and started to head back the way they'd came.

Tommy followed, not willing to continue their fight. If Alex wanted to be the leader, fine, but if he continued to be impolite about it, he would protest. But until then, he was content to ride in the passenger seat.

* * *

Billy's tree went higher than he had expected or wanted. Vida may have reached the top of hers first but his went still higher. Although, he did find that sitting this high had some distinct advantages. Like how he could feel the rush of cool wind against his cheeks contrasting the warmth from the sun and not have to worry about keeping the balance between plastic and real. It was nice. He smiled.

"See anything," Vida yelled up at him.

He blushed, glad no one was around to see it. He'd gotten so wrapped up in the moment, he'd forgotten to look around. He scanned the horizon. Due to the position of the sun, and assuming the sun still rises in the east and sets in the west in this time, he could determine the cardinal points. There was a faint mountain range to the North while to the South, the trees ended abruptly at a very large lake, trees continuing on the far side. He thought he saw light reflect off something near the water's edge but when he blinked, it was gone. Sure he had imagined it, he turned. To the West, a large piece of the unnaturally tall ground poked from the smooth lines of trees, unnatural but not unusual. Who was he to say that there weren't formations like that all over. To the East he saw a city. Bright and pristine, this modern city sat completely out of place among the ocean of trees. "What?"

"What?"

"WHAT?" Billy practically fell out of the tree in shock.

Vida growled loudly, "What is it?"

"It's…Angel Grove." He scrambled back down the tree, "But it's not where it should be!"

Vida stared at him, "What? Are you insane?"

Billy continued to crawl down the tree, "I've lived in Angel Grove my entire life. I know the surrounding geography like the circuitry of a basic non-linear multi-phase power generator! It is completely in the incorrect location."

Vida rolled her eyes but started to climb down as well, "Well, we'll get Tommy to straighten this out when he and that really strict Red guy get back." She muttered to herself, "And if you've completely lost it, I'll have some help to put you in a nice padded room."

* * *

The two roaming teams arrived back at the same time and they continued this trend as they proceeded to all talk excitedly at the same time.

"Some strange dome," Alex reported.

"Angel Grove," Billy practically yelled.

"Terra Venture," Chad did yell.

They paused, brains deciphering and processing this rush of information. Then they started talking over each other again.

"Wait, what," Tommy asked Billy.

"It couldn't be Terra Venture," Alex insisted to Chad.

"What kind of dome," Summer asked to either Alex or Tommy, both of whom weren't listening.

Vala and Mack watched the chaotic exchange of information. "So, what did you see," Vida asked.

"Apparently a crashed space ship. You?"

Vida shrugged, "I didn't, my tree didn't go that high."

"Ah."

The exclamations became more frantic. Billy was emphatically gesturing, insisting that he knew what Angel Grove looked like while Summer had picked Alex off the ground and was demanding that he describe the dome he'd seen. Eventually their voices died down and Chad decided to step in, "Hey guys." They ignored him. "Guys!" He smiled calmly, "How about we slow down and take this one case at a time."

* * *

Tommy leapt down from the low branches of the tree, he nodded, "Billy was right, it's Angel Grove as far as I can tell."

"But how did it get here," Billy asked.

Tommy shrugged, "I have no clue."

Vida jumped down too, "It gets better. That weird rise of land out there? That's the Animarium."

"The flying land turtle thing the Wild Force Rangers use," Mack asked.

"Yup."

* * *

They looked out from the hill. Alex nodded, "That's Terra Venture all right. I wonder what happened to it?"

Chad shrugged, "Don't know but there it is." He winced, "I hope nobody was in that."

As the sound of the ocean played on the cliff, Summer smiled sadly, "Yeah, that's Corinth. I'd know that dome anywhere."

"Billy, you said this was just a lake," Mack asked.

Billy nodded, "I can see the edges of it from the tree."

"Then I'm just going to bet the Lightspeed base is in there."

"I'm sure that the Wind Ninja Academy is hiding in these woods somewhere," Vida said. "And, given our luck, so are parts of all the other Rangers times?"

"Most likely."

Tommy sighed, "What is going on?"

* * *

*AN*

When worlds collide. Literally! And you thought things were going to be normal? Mwahahahaha!

*AN2*

Also, sorry about last week's absence. Lots of things happened. But the extra time really helped me flesh out this chapter a lot more and helped me realize that one chapter a week is simply too much for me right now. School is going to really kick me around this semester and I've noticed that the quality of my chapters declining when I try and rush them through. So I'm going to try one every two weeks, still on Sunday. This will help both my grades and the quality of my chapters. Now down the road, if school turns out to be not as bad as I thought, I may start posting once a week again. Who knows?

Anywhoo thanks for reading and I hope you've enjoyed it so far:)!

*CL*

**Mystery Universe Team**

Billy Cranston - Mighty Morphin Blue

Tommy Oliver – Red Turbo

Chad Lee – Blue Lightspeed Rescue

Alex (did we ever know this guys last name?) – original Red Time Force

Vida Rocca – Pink Mystic Force

Mack Hartford – Red Operation Overdrive

Summer Landsdown – Yellow RPM

And for additional information purposes, here's a list of the various main cities and/or cities the Rangers used

Mighty Morphin - Turbo: Angel Grove(city) and the Command Center

In Space - Angel Grove and the Astro Megaship

Lost Galaxy - Terra Venture

Lightspeed Rescue - Mariner Bay and the Aquabase

Time Force - Silver Hills and The Future(!)

Wild Force - Turtle Cove and the Animarium

Ninja Storm - the Wind Ninja Academy

Dino Thunder - Reefside

SPD - SPD Academy

Mystic Force - Briarwood

Operation Overdrive - Hartford Mansion

Jungle Fury - Ocean Bluff and Jungle Karma Pizza

RPM - the domed(not doomed) city of Corinth


	24. Chap 24: Catching Up and Getting Caught

Chapter 24 – Catching up and Getting Caught

"Look, I'm telling you, they went this way," Carter said, pointing out how some the leaves were bent backwards. "See!"

Trent stared at where Carter was pointing but despite trying, didn't see anything that made it significant. He shook his head, "No."

Carter looked at Karone and Gemma for help. They just shrugged, they couldn't think how to explain it either. Carter sighed, "Ok, can you just trust me on this?"

"Yeah, sure."

The four Rangers walked along the path Carter had found, Carter leading. They had been running as quickly as they possibly could for a few hours and had cleared the similar looking streets. They were now traveling through a minefield of dead leaves. Most of this was done in almost painful silence, none of them had really talked before. Not from lack of desire, they just didn't run in the same circles. The pressure of getting to know so many new people had caused most of them to stick the ones they already knew or a tight group of Rangers from other teams.

Gemma, for her part, had very few problems making new friends and at once went about her normal routine. "Ok guys, who wants to sing a traveling song? I know Row, Row, Row Your Boat, Camptown Races and 100 Pieces of Candy in My Hand!"

Trent laughed uncomfortably, he'd heard some of the sing-a-longs her and her twin brother Gem had started back in Arthur's room. He really would prefer that his earbuds didn't bleed. If they could. "How about we just talk?"

"Sure!" She paused. "But what about?"

Trent stumbled, what should they talk about? He didn't know much about Gemma beyond her and her brother's lack of singing ability. "Err…what do you like to do in your time?"

"Blow things up," Gemma asked, following the statement with a few appropriate sounding sound effects. "The only way to take care of monsters is exploding them! Boom!"

Trent blinked, well her enthusiasm for explosions certainly explained why things sometimes caught on fire in Arthur's room. "No, I mean what do you do in your free time?"

"Oh, we don't have much free time at home," Gemma said cheerfully. "Venjix is always either attacking or about to attack. I think the longest we went without an attack was five days!" She sighed happily, "Oh the fun we had! We even got to go shopping and Summer convinced Dr. K to get a new lab coat! I've never seen her so happy."

"Geeze," Trent said, "We usually had a week between monster attacks. Two at the most. It helped that two of our bad guys were my father and the school principal. They had to be up for work or school in the morning, just like we did."

"Oh! What was school like, "Gemma asked, curious. "I've never been to school before! Well, not real school, you know the kind with other kids. Nope, it was just me and my brother and, when we got older, we got to meet Dr. K!"

Sensing that Trent was at a loss of what to say, Karone joined the conversation and changed the topic. "Have you traveled much, Gemma?"

"No. I was either in Alphabet Soup, fighting Venjix, which I admit let me go to some spectacular places, or trapped in a stupid dome." Coming across a thought, Gemma asked Karone, "You were trapped in a dome too, weren't you?"

"You mean Terra Venture?"

"Yeah! The big domed ship thing."

"Well…I guess. I mean it was an interstellar space ship but, yeah, there was a dome. Or five. Six?"

Carter waited politely for Karone to finish before asking Gemma about something she'd said. "Hey, what do you mean that you were trapped in a dome? I thought you and the other RPM Rangers were racecar drivers."

Gemma blinked, realizing she'd said too much. Right, racecar drivers, _that's_ what their cover story had been. She'd forgotten. Dr. K had been insistent that they not discuss their time too much and Gemma mostly understood why. These Rangers put their lives on the line daily but ultimately they would fail and 99.9% of the world would be destroyed. No one should have to face that kind of despair. So how did she answer that question? She settled on backtracking, "Uhhh…I meant that our racing was done in a dome. Yeah! With cars! A-and explosions! We just didn't get out much," she said, smiling self depreciatively.

Both Carter and Karone seemed to know that she was lying but they didn't press it. Karone changed the subject again, "See anything different Carter?"

Carter shook his head, "No but their trail is getting messier which means they probably sped up. They're not as concerned with being followed as their prey is. The Crew's trail is a lot harder to see."

"How in the world can you tell the difference," Trent asked as they swerved around a thick tree. "A bent blade of grass looks the same to me."

Carter nodded, "It was hard at first until I realized that some of these blades of grass had been _cut_." He pointed to one as they ran by, "See how that one has been cleanly sliced through? None of the Rangers we're following had swords that could cut that cleanly, it must have been the Sword of Light."

"Pah," Gemma exclaimed. "Using a weapon that _beautiful_, that _powerful_, that _magnificent_, that… _important_ to _cut the lawn_," she sounded scandalized and was scowling. "I'm going to have to try some of my toys on them."

* * *

Trey lay on the ground, unconscious. The other Rangers stared at him in near panic. "He hasn't moved in hours," Danny said, his voice high pitched with worry. "I don't know. Something's wrong with him."

"Now don't panic," Flynn said, gesturing with palms down, "I'm sure he's just tired." He ran a hand through his hair, "Just tired…yeah…."

Kira glared at him, "Yeah, _just_ he's tired. He's _plastic_! Or mostly plastic. We don't get tired from running, Flynn, and we certainly don't just pass out like that."

Dana put his hand on the prone figure's forehead, "He has a fever."

"He's sick," Kira asked in disbelief. "Plastic toys _can't get sick!_"

Corcus, who was holding the Sword of Light and keeping watch, glanced away from the small window in the empty remains of an old wooden doghouse, "What's going on guys?" It had been hours since they hid in this dark and smelly place. No sign of the villains but that was no reason to be complacent.

Dana hesitated then told them since she could think of no other way to say it, "I think Trey's dying."

"What?" Corcus spun, "Dying! How? Why?"

"I don't know," Dana said, shaking her head. "But he's sick when he can't be, he's exhausted when he shouldn't be… I mean I've never seen someone just collapse like this without reason. And in our condition, it couldn't be something like a common cold. Something is making him dangerously ill."

"Yeah but dying isn't ill! Which is it?"

Dana bit her lip, "I've talked to the Zeo Rangers a bit. Well I've talked to all the teams. Mostly about their members who aren't human. How am I supposed to use my medical training to help them if I don't know what makes them tick and how to treat them? Trey, it seems, is from a race of aliens called Triforians. They're a people that can split into three separate beings or be combined into one. Whoever did this to us split Trey up into his three parts, Courage, Heart and Wisdom. This Trey is the Trey of Courage and I _think_ he's been separated from the other two for too long."

"Wait," Kira said, "Are you saying that we have a third of a person? When did that happen?"

"Before we even woke up. Somewhere out there there's two other Treys in the same condition."

"So what can we do," Flynn asked.

"Nothing." Even though it hurt Dana to say that there really was nothing she could do. Not unless the other two Trey's appeared out of nowhere. "There's nothing we can do."

"So we're just going to sit here and watch him die? No!" Danny picked Trey off the floor and gently slung him over his shoulder. He glared at the other Rangers "I'll carry him but we're getting him back to Zordon. He'll know what to do. But we are not going to just sit here and watch him die!"

Before anyone else could say anything and without warning, Corcus was tackled to the ground as a figure flew through the window. The figure rolled to Kira and threw her aside. Psycho Yellow grinned, shark-like, "Don't worry about your friend, you're all gonna die!" She pointed to Kira, "Especially you, Acorn Girl!"

Psycho Red and Astronema appeared in the tall doorway, Ecliptor and Psycho Black standing behind them. Astronema smirked and held her hand out, "We'll be taking that Sword back now."

* * *

"That is the correct home," Venjix said, practically yelling in his monotone way.

Charlie pushed the small branches aside, looking at the large well-kept two story, a single vehicle was parked outside. "Looks nice." She grinned, "When do we get to smash it?"

"All right, calm down," Psycho Blue said. "We can't burn it to the ground until we get what we came for. A-Squad Pink, Blue and Yellow scout the back side of the house and make sure there are no surprises." He motioned to the remaining evil Rangers, "Green and Pink, come with me to scout out the inside of the house. Meanwhile, Charlie, you take Venjix to the side of the front door and wait for us to open it."

Charlie scowled, "How do I always get stuck with the monotone drone?"

Venjix's light lit up, "I am not too pleased with this arrangement either."

"Who cares what you're pleased with," Charlie said with a snarl, "you're nothing but a useless column of tin!"

"Not for much longer." Soon he would have a body again. "And once I regain a mobile form, you had better step carefully."

Charlie moved to stand in front of Venjix, "Was that a threat?"

"Yes."

Psycho Blue flung the two apart, easily pushing Venjix's cart back a full foot, "Enough! If you two want to fight, then do so but not right now. It can wait."

Charlie's scowl deepened, "Fine but we will finish this quarrel, Venjix."

"Indeed."

* * *

Carter passed a hand over the ground, "I think they rested here. Or at least, they moved around this space a lot." He noticed a few animal tracks and moved over to them, "What are these?"

Trent stared at them, "Squirrels. I think." When the others looked at him strangely, he explained, "I like to draw squirrels, they're so furry and complex. Those are their footprints."

Gemma pointed to a fallen log, "Is that a clump of fur over there?" She spotted two more, "And there? And there?"

"So, what," Trent asked, "did they _fight_ the squirrels? Are they really that evil that they feel the need to harm little woodland creatures?"

Carter shrugged, "Donno but here it is. Karone?"

Karone was near the edge of the small clearing where the battle had apparently taken place. She was kneeling like Carter, "I think our friends were over here."

"You can track," Carter asked, surprised.

Karone smiled shyly, "Ecliptor taught me many things growing up. By the time I was fourteen, I could track the wind through a desert an hour after it had blown through."

"Then why didn't you help me when we were first trying to find the trail?"

"You found it didn't you," Karone said, avoiding the question. The real reason was that Red's always liked to take the lead, be in command. She hadn't wanted to step on his ego at first.

Walking a bit further past where Karone and Carter were looking, Gemma pointed, "I think they went this way. Kind of the way we came. Why would they try to go back?"

Trent joined her, "Do you think they got the Sword and were heading back to Arthur's?"

"Wouldn't that be nice," Karone said, standing. "A quick day trip around the park then back home." She noticed something near the new path, "Uh oh. I think they split up."

"Who? Our friends?"

"No, the Crew." She pointed to a patch large red leaves, where impressions of tiny pairs of feet headed off in two directions. One direction followed the path they thought their friends had forged while the other continued onward in the direction they had originally followed. They were the only such impressions in the area, this hadn't been idle walking around.

Carter looked around some more, noticing that she was most likely right in this observation, "It seems that the cart carrying Venjix went in the original direction along with more than half of the Crew. I'd say about seven. That leaves five to follow our friends." He mused over this, "They had twice as many people and yet they still lost the sword. Why split up, why reduce their advantage?"

"This is making me nervous," Trent said. "It just doesn't add up."

Gemma was getting nervous as well but she wasn't the kind to stand and talk about it. She raced forward, following the path their friends had gone down. She yelled behind her, "Talk, talk talk! Talking does nothing, we have to do!"

Stunned and a little annoyed, the Rangers exchanged glances. "Well," Carter asked, "Do we follow her and save our friends? And the Sword, of course. Or follow Venjix and see what he's up to? Should we split up and do both?"

There was a seconds pause after he finished speaking then they all darted after Gemma.

* * *

A-Squad Pink motioned to A-Squad Yellow. Yellow nodded and moved quickly around the corner. He quickly looked around for anything dangerous but, not seeing anything beyond a well kept backyard, stuck his hand back around the corner, waving. When Blue didn't move, Pink shoved him forward. "Go," she hissed.

Blue stumbled forward and around the corner. He almost ran into Yellow who shoved him away too, "Watch it spider boy."

Blue muttered an apology and messed with one of his fangs, his four green eyes glancing in two directions. "Are you sure we're alone?"

Yellow scowled as Pink joined them, "Yes."

Blue nodded, "Ok, ok." He paused then pointed upwards, "You _sure_?"

As the large net dropped over them, Pink punched Yellow hard enough that he fell to the ground. "You! Moron!"

* * *

The A-Squad Green pulled Psycho Pink through the open crack in the small bathroom window. Psycho Blue nodded, a hand to his mouth, demanding silence. They could hear the a voice coming from the hallway. He motioned to them and they quietly slipped through the doorway and stole down the hall. Finding that the voice was actually coming from the room next to their target, the front door, Blue leaned his head around the corner. The TV blared an out of date song and he chuckled, "It was merely the entertainment device. The humans must have left it on."

"What about the car," A-Squad Green whispered, glancing around. "They could be hiding and waiting for us."

Pink snorted, "You're giving these weaklings too much credit. They are stupid beasts."

Green shrugged, "Either way, we should let Charlie and Venjix in before they kill each other. Or before Charlie decided to find out what makes Venjix tick and tear him apart."

Blue was one step ahead of them and had already discovered the means of opening of the door. "Green, help me toss Pink up on that handle and when I say the word, Pink, jump on it till it opens. We'll push it open from down here."

Pink nodded and the Blue and Green threw her upward, too hard as she flew past the handle and landed on the small window. She glared down at them, "Nice shot."

Green just grinned and shrugged.

Scowling, Pink decided that this position would actually be better and waited till Blue had a grip on the door and yelled, 'Go!'. Then gracefully leapt down, landing on the handle hard enough that the door popped open. Blue and Green opened the door. They waited a few seconds, expecting Charlie to practically throw Venjix through the opening but when this didn't happen, they peeked through.

Venjix's column and cart was parked on the step leading to the front porch. Charlie was sitting next to him. And they were talking. Not screaming, not yelling, not even arguing, just having a quiet conversation.

Looking bemused, Blue cleared his throat.

Charlie practically leapt into the air, demeanor instantly changing. "It's about time," she screamed, "I was just about to kill this tin can!"

"Uh, huh…"

A loud voice behind them screamed, "What the…!"

The group spun to find a tall woman staring down at them in shocked terror. Blue grunted, "Hi."

* * *

*AN*

Well, it sure didn't take long for everything to just fall apart; Trey's dying, half the CC caught up with the triumphant Rangers and the other Evil Rangers royally messed up their part of the mission. All in all, nothing seems to be going according to plan. Sooooooo normal then.

*AN2*

Also, thought you guys should know, if you don't already, Power Rangers: Samurai premiers not this Monday but next Monday, February the 7th. Find your local times and tune in! Whoo!

*CL*

**Search and Destroy Team 1 **

Dana – Pink Lightspeed Ranger

Corcus – Black Alien Ranger

Danny – Black Wild Force Ranger

Flynn – Blue RPM Ranger

Trey – original Gold Zeo Ranger

Kira – Yellow Dino Thunder Ranger

**Search and Destroy Team 2**

Karone – Pink Galaxy Ranger

Gemma – Silver RPM Ranger

Trent – White Dino Thunder Ranger

Carter – Red Lightspeed Ranger

**The Competent Crew(CC)**

Red Psycho Ranger

Pink Psycho Ranger

Blue Psycho Ranger

Black Psycho Ranger

Yellow Psycho Ranger

Astronema

Ecliptor

Venjix

A-Squad Red(Charlie)

A-Squad Blue

A-Squad Green

A-Squad Yellow

A-Squad Pink


	25. Chapter 25: A Whole New City

Chapter 25 – A Whole New City

"Seriously, what is going on," Tommy asked again, standing slightly behind the others. They were standing on the outskirts of the city, looking at it in confusion. "This isn't the Angel Grove that I remember. It looks so different than it did when we were further away." Buildings that Tommy and Billy did recognize were mixed in with ones they didn't. It wasn't just that new ones had been built, some buildings were sitting on top of other ones or partially inside of them, like they had been mashed together by a five year old. Streets that had once moved in a straight line now zigzagged and dead-ended around structures that obviously hadn't been there when they were laid down. The strangest looking collection, however, was where five tall skyscrapers reached upward from a central point, like a hand. While most of the placement seemed random, the way those five buildings looked, did not.

Alex, noticing Tommy staring pointedly at the structure, cleared his throat, "We should head for that structure. The hand looking thing. It could be a main building of some kind."

"Wait," Billy said. From their vantage point, they could see crowds of people walking in the streets of the mutated Angel Grove. Who were they? "Are the people down there the people from our time? Mine, I mean." He glanced down at his uniform, "Should we put our helmets on? I don't really want to be exposed as the Blue Ranger." He didn't want people following his every move, expecting him to be a perfect hero every second. His secret identity was one of the only most precious things he had.

Alex thought about this and nodded, again noticing that Tommy had gone ahead and put his one, "Anyone who doesn't feel comfortable with their identity being know, feel free to don your helmet." Billy and Vida joined Tommy in hiding their faces. "When we get in, don't stop and talk, just head for the center of the city. We need to remember that we have a time limit."

Summer shook her head, those people down there were stuck in a strange place and possibly had been for months. If six Power Rangers simply wander into their midst, there could be a riot. "Maybe we should find a way to disguise Ranger suits, Alex. I don't want people to panic when they see us." She looked down at her own yellow suit, "It wouldn't be hard, just a long skirt and loose shirt. Might be a bit harder for you guys but we could do it."

"Why would they panic," Vida asked.

Tommy caught on, "Don't we usually save them from strange things? They see us, they instantly think we'll be able to get them home."

"But aren't we?"

"Eventually but first we need to find the…," he turned to Billy looking for the name of what they were looking for.

Billy provided it, "The Trans-Dimensional Bridge."

"…yeah, that… so that we'll be there when the other Rangers attack. We can't miss that deadline." He noticed Alex almost having a fit and trailed off, "I mean…" He stopped talking and stared upwards at the sky, "Hey, Alex, what do you think?" This whole not leading thing was going to be harder than he thought.

Summer, realizing what was going on between Alex and Tommy, rolled her eyes. She solved the dilemma by simply walking away, towards the city.

* * *

The shouting started immediately. People of all kinds seemed to spill from the hodgepodge of buildings, clustering together just beyond the seven Rangers reach. Unfamiliar faces looking both hopeful and afraid.

"Now I know how you and the rest of Mighty Morphin felt when you first arrived," Vida whispered to a helmeted Billy. "It's strange being stared at by so many faces."

"Yeah," Billy whispered back, "but I didn't like it then and I don't like it now." He had never liked being the center of attention. Even when it he was talking about some of his inventions

"Quiet," Alex commanded, "no more talking."

Vida stuck her tongue out but the helmet blocked Alex from being able to see it.

The crowds began to press closer, their voices growing louder as the Rangers didn't vanish.

"Guys," Vida said as one particularly brave person reached out. She flinched away and the hand retreated.

Summer!"

Recognizing the voice, Summer scanned the sea of faces, finally recognizing one, "Colonel Mason?" She stepped towards him only for him to disappear as the crowd rushed towards them. The Rangers found themselves unable to move freely.

* * *

Screaming in anger, the crowd forced the seven Rangers to where they had been headed anyways, the five tall skyscrapers. The crowd tussled and pushed the Rangers, who found themselves unable to lift a hand to defend themselves. These people were obviously upset and for all they knew, they had reason to be. So they rode with the fury of the crowd, each one imagining with their minds eye what could have happened to turn the people against them. As still more people joined the crowd, they reached the five buildings. Standing at the edge, the Rangers attempted to regain their balance. Chad smiled winningly at the nearest person, "Hi, my name's Chad Lee, I'm with Lightspeed Rescue." He held out his hand, "And you are…?"

The man glared at him and pointed towards the center of the structures, "Go."

The Rangers looked at the dark path leading into the collection of buildings. They couldn't see anything beyond the first few feet. They took a step back.

Chad looked back at the guy, "Yeah, how about we don't." He grinned, "Is there a snack bar around here? I'm starving!"

The guy pointed harder, "Go! Now!" The crowd followed suit chanting 'Go!'.

Alex, shrugging, started walking that direction when a blur sped in front of him and held his hand out.

"Stop!" The tall man glared at him, "Are you stupid?"

Summer smiled in relief, "Colonel Mason! She walked past Alex and threw her arms around him, "It's so good to see a friendly face!"

Colonel Mason, uncomfortable with hugging, quickly disengaged himself from Summer, "Um…you too…" He straightened his uniform, "All right, we have to get you guys out of here." He whistled and a group of serious looking soldiers, a few wearing the familiar uniforms of Corinth Guards, others dressed in Silver Guardian gear, some just wearing street clothes, appeared from the slowly boiling crowd and surrounded the Rangers, guns pointed outward. The crowd retreated slightly.

Alex looked back at the center of the five buildings, "But we were told to go in there."

Colonel Mason chuckled dryly, "You go in there, Red and you won't come back." He motioned to the soldiers, who tightened their ring, "Come on, the crowd's still small. But if we wait much longer, we'll _all_ be taking that trip into the Ring."

The soldiers pushed their way through still growing, still yelling, crowd.

* * *

Colonel Mason and his soldiers led them away from what he had called 'the Ring', going all the way around it. Some of the crowd remained near the structure but most of it followed, at a distance, the Rangers and their escorts.

Summer decided it was time for some answers. She dropped back to Colonel Mason who was bringing up the rear, "Colonel? What's going on? What was in those buildings? Why are you in Angel Grove? Who's taking care of Corinth?"

"All in time Summer." He glanced behind them at the crowd, "Right now, we have to get somewhere safe."

Summer glanced back too, "Why are you afraid of the crowd? None of the other Rangers ever mentioned people who were this," she tried to think of a way to say it nicely.

Colonel Mason supplied the appropriate answer, "crazy?"

"…yeah, that seems about right."

Mason shrugged, "Being taken out of your natural environment and put, with your entire city in some cases, in an strange place with other people in the same strange situation? It does things to a person's mind. The strange disappearance of you Power Rangers didn't help the situation. Things were hairy there for awhile, I had to put Corinth in total lockdown for a week." He stopped talking as they caught up with the soldiers who had come to end of an ally way. There was a steel door set back into the brick. "Excuse me." He walked to the front of the group, knocking hard twice on the door.

A section of the door was ripped away, revealing a long peephole. Two eyes glared out at them, "Who is it? What do you want?"

Mason sighed, "Ernie, let us in."

Ernie, the friendly owner of the original Juice Bar, squinted suspiciously, "How do I know you're the _real_ Colonel Mason? Not some evil clone?" He noticed the Rangers and his eyes widened, they fell on Billy and he squeaked, "Blue Ranger!" The peephole was quickly closed again and the door thrown open a second later, "Blue Ranger!" He shoved past the other Rangers and drew the startled Billy into a bear hug, "Oh Blue Ranger, you've come back to save us!"

Billy, like Mason, was extremely uncomfortable with being hugged this tightly. He looked around for help. With a hidden grin, Tommy pulled the now sobbing shop owner away. He leaned closer, "Come on Ernie, not now."

Ernie blinked, "Who are you? And how do you know my name?"

Colonel Mason noticed the crowd was moving closer and forcefully pushed Mack towards the door, "Could we continue this discussion inside? You really don't want to go back to the Ring."

* * *

Inside, Colonel Mason led them down a long hall, passing only three doors before stopping at one marked 'Private'. He opened it and went inside, Ernie and the Rangers followed. He closed the door behind them and they heard a lock click.

Mason nodded, "It's safe in here, we have it soundproofed and shielded from surveillance technology."

"Is that really necessary," Alex asked. "Who would want to spy on you?"

Mason sat down in one of the chairs scattered around an oblong table, "Like I said, it got hairy and we're still not sure who believes what. Better to be safe than sorry." He motioned for the Rangers and Ernie to take a seat. Mack and Alex took seats closest to the door while Ernie was flanked by Billy and Tommy. Summer sat next to Colonel Mason and Vida dropped herself into the chair next to her. Chad stretched out at the opposite end of the table, putting his feet up on the table.

As she sat down, Vida took off her helmet, shaking her hair out of its helmet pressed state. She tousled it and looked at Mason, "Ok military man, it's time for an explanation."

Billy and Tommy glanced at each other, then at Ernie, and shrugged. They took off their helmets too. Billy smiled shyly at Ernie, "Hey Ernie, it's good to know you're ok."

Ernie's mouth dropped, "Billy? Quite, smart guy Billy? You're the Blue Power Ranger? Didn't see that one." He noticed Tommy and he leaned back in his chair, "Tommy, you too?" He paused, "You… I can believe it." He took in the uniform, "But I don't recognize that suit."

"It's…ah…for the Turbo Rangers." Ernie looked confused and Tommy smiled, "After your time."

As Tommy and Billy caught up with Ernie with Mack listening in with interest; Chad, Alex, Vida and Summer turned to Mason who was sitting with his fingers steepled, deep in thought. Summer leaned closer, getting his attention, "Colonel?"

Mason glanced at her then away again. He found a spot on the far wall and stared at it, "I never really thought that you had abandoned us Summer. Not you or Scott or the rest of the RPM Rangers." He nodded at Vida, "The other Rangers I didn't know so I couldn't judge whether or not they were trustworthy, but you guys? My own son? I knew your sense of right was just too strong for you to just disappear like they were saying you had." He paused for a second and Summer got the feeling Mason had not had a joyful few months. He continued, "When Corinth appeared on the edge of that lake out there, only Angel Grove, in its original form, was here. And, at first, it wasn't so bad. We explored the surrounding forests, made contacts with the citizens of Angel Grove, who were just as confused as we were, and tried to find a way home. But then other cities began to appear, overlapping with parts of Angel Grove. Buildings grew other buildings, people appeared out of thin air. A Ninja Temple appeared in the park, a large mansion took over where the power plant was, an advanced academy was split into three parts and scattered around town, the Aquabase appeared in the lake next to Corinth and, well, it was all chaos. Then the Animarium crashed out of nowhere, the people of Turtle Cove were stunned and more than a few injured. None of them knew how they got onto the Animarium, much less in this place." He sighed, hiding his face in his hands, "Even that calmed down after a couple of weeks or so. But then…then Terra Venture crashed. The people…oh Summer… there were _mass casualties_. Not one person walked away without some kind of wound. And that's when the panic's started. On a level of I haven't seen. Even when the world was ending around us, people maintained a certain degree of decorum. But the people here just lost it."

Ernie spoke up, looking far away, like he was relieving the time. "It was terrible. People looked around, saw all the destruction and wondered where the Power Rangers were, why they had been abandoned. And as the months grew longer, the confusion became anger. And the anger…led to some very scared people doing scary things."

Mason nodded, "I didn't have enough soldiers to contain the situation, SPD, Time Force and the Silver Guardians did what they could but most of their forces hadn't been transported to this place. They couldn't help much. The people demanded to be protected, from what I'll never know, but with the Rangers missing, they felt unsafe for the first time in years." He rubbed a hand across his face, "And that was when a _teenager_ took over." He growled, "A teenager! Not even out of high school! A skinny little pipsqueak!"

The Rangers looked at each other in confusion. "A teenager," Alex asked, not able to keep the laughter out of his voice. "How did that happen?"

"He started out harmless, less than harmless even. He was just rallying a few low spirits, making people remember that we weren't helpless beasts. He gave a few bits of advice here and there. But they were good. It was his idea to abandon the other places and live here in Angel Grove. I don't know how it got into people's heads but it wasn't long before the people were letting take him care of everything. He turned this place into his own personal kingdom. If anyone so much as sneezes without his permission now, he takes them into that ring of buildings and nobody ever hears from them again. But these people don't care, they were just glad to have someone 'protecting' them again."

"Except you guys," Mack asked, "I noticed that you had your own security guards."

Mason nodded, "Some of us recognized Trevor for what he was and took a few steps back from everyone else. Right now, we have about a hundred or so from the thousands here. We mostly keep to ourselves but we've stepped in to save those we could." They heard noises outside the door, like people were running down the hall outside the door. "Of course we may have drawn too much attention to ourselves rescuing you. The wrong kind of attention." He glanced at the door, "I was hoping we would have at least a day." A boom, "Guess not."

The Rangers leapt to their feet. Alex and Tommy both yelling conflicting things. Alex glared at Tommy, "Rangers!, outside, now!" They did so but Colonel Mason beat them to it.

Smoke filled the hall, soldiers were running in both directions, shouting. Mason planted himself in the center of the hall and raised his voice above the din, "At-tent-tion!" The soldiers skidded to a stop, staring at him. Mason glared, "You will return to your posts unless there is an emergency!"

"But sir," one of the nearby soldiers said nervously, "they've broken down the front door!"

Mason considered this then again yelled, "All right then, everyone to the front!"

Ernie timidly peeked out of the room, "Um, I think I'll stay back here."

* * *

The soldiers parted for Mason and the Rangers although all kept their weapons trained in front of them, at the large hole where the door once stood. A lone figure stood in the gap. He wore a white shirt and white pants. Once they were closer, recognition hit most of them like a lightning bolt.

"Trent," asked Vida, peering at the bright light. "Is that you?"

The boy smiled, "No." He waved, "Hi, I'm Trevor and I'm the _real_ White Dino Ranger. The only Power Ranger who didn't abandon their people to this." He spread his arms and people filled the space around him, "Welcome home." He took a step backwards, so that the crowd completely surrounded him, "Now, are you going to come quietly? Or are you going to try to hurt some innocent civilians?"

The Rangers were still, each running through everything they'd learned over the last hour. They had no doubt that this pretender to Trent's title was a bad guy but it was his wall of citizens of the towns they had sworn to protect that made them hesitate. Most of them anyway. Alex took a step forward with the intention of attacking but Tommy and Mack pulled him back. Chad raised his hands in the air, "We surrender."

Trevor grinned, "Good choice." He glanced at Mason behind the Rangers, "Mason, you, I'm not interested in. So go ahead and keep playing 'soldier' with your little friends." He turned his grin back on the Rangers, "I've got some real toys to play with now."

* * *

*AN*

So, yeah… Things aren't turning out as the Rangers had hoped. The people are pretty mad at them _and_ a crazy evil, clone Ranger has taken over. But how did he escape from whatever took the other Rangers? And what is he going to do with them? Will they be able to make the rendezvous on time!

*AN2*

Ok guys, I have a question for ya! I have some ideas as to how these different cities fared after the Rangers vanished, including the crash of Terra Venture, the Animarium and the like, but seeing as how I'm thinking one chapter for a season, this could take up quite a chunk of time if I put them in here. Now, if you want me to I will but I can also stick them in a new fic, Not Just Action Figures: Side Stories, since they would mostly feature minor characters or OCs. That fic would have a slightly more erratic schedule than this one but would be updated regularly. That way they would be optional to anyone who wanted to read them. I can also shove them down a deep hole somewhere if nobody really cares. Either way. Let me know in a review or PM which you would rather!

*CL*

**Mystery Universe Team**

Billy Cranston - Mighty Morphin Blue

Tommy – Red Turbo but remembers Zeo

Chad Lee – Blue Lightspeed Rescue

Alex – Red Time Force

Vida Rocca – Pink Mystic Force

Mack Hartford – Red Operation Overdrive

Summer Landsdown – Yellow RPM

**Mystery Universe Inhabitants**

Colonel Mason – Commander of Corinth in RPM

Ernie – Owner of the Juice Bar from Mighty Morphin to Zeo

Soldiers – from assorted seasons

Evil White Dino Clone(I'm calling him Trevor) – a 'soulless' clone of the White Dino Ranger Powers, which belonged to Trent, created by Mesogog(Dino Thunder).

People from every city in Power Rangers history


	26. Chapter 26: Just a Little R&R

Chapter 26 – Just a Little R&R(Relax and Recap)

Thinking that the Rangers needed a break from their intensive preparations, Zordon and the other mentors had prepared an impromptu ceremony to take some of the stress off them. Zordon again spoke in front of the assembled masses of the Power Rangers but he had no bad news this time. In fact, this might be his favorite duty since he arrived. He looked solemnly down at the two standing in front of him. "For their bravery above and beyond the call of the normal, everyday person; for their willingness to fight the forces of evil even though they had no powers beyond that of goodness and moral strength; for their character and resolve, it is my great honor to bestow the title of Honorary Power Ranger upon Farkus Bulkmeier and Eugene Skullovitch."

Bulk and Skull's faces burst into identical grins of pure joy. Bulk grabbed Skull's shirt, nearly shaking his arm off in his excitement.

Smiling now, Zordon continued, "May you always fight against evil and their forces, may you always be brave and, always, may the Power protect you both!"

* * *

Bulk clumsily rolled around the corner, seeing no new enemies, he motioned to his friend, "Come Honorary Power Ranger Skull, our quest continues!" He ran forward, full of energy.

Skull followed, grinning. He loved the idea of being an honorary Power Ranger. The fact that these heroes recognized their contributions was more than he had ever hoped to ask for. But he would like to be an _actual_ Power Ranger even more. "Honorary Power Ranger Bulk! Hey! Bulk!"

Bulk stopped, "Yes, Honorary Power Ranger Skull?"

Skull scratched his head, "Can we come up with better names than Honorary Power Ranger? I've got something better." He struck a pose, one arm and finger dramatically lifted in the air pointing out to the side, chest pushed out "How about, Super Amazing Skull Ranger?"

Bulk stuck a similar pose, "And I'll be the Cool and Awesome Bulk Ranger!"

They moved together, arms crossed, "Together we are Power Rangers: ….um…"

Bulk looked at Skull, "I can't think of anything."

"Me neither."

"We have to have a cool team name! Everyone else has one!"

"How about Mighty Morphin," a voice asked. The duo turned to find the youngest version of Jason come out of a nearby building. He smiled, "I was actually on my way to ask you guys to join my team but you ran off so fast after the ceremony that I didn't have time. For once, you were just too quick."

"Really," Skull asked, torn between hope and shame. "After all the times we made fun of you?"

"Or tried to throw trash on you," Bulk added.

"Or tried to embarrass you?"

"Or tried to trick you?"

"Or tried to…you know…beat you up?"

"Multiple times."

"Almost every time we saw you pretty much."

Jason shook his head, "You two are not the same guys who were desperately trying to be bullies. You've changed and grown and I would be proud to call you my teammates."

Bulk and Skull were silent, thinking.

Jason pressed, "So, how about it? Will you become the Mighty Morphin Bulk and Mighty Morphin Skull Rangers?"

"Not so fast, younger me!" Zeo Jason leapt down from atop the same building Red Jason had come out of. He smirked, "See, great minds think alike." He addressed Bulk and Skull, "How about being a Zeo Ranger instead? Our name is cooler and we have a _much_ better gear."

"No way," Red T.J. exclaimed, leaping from the underside of the bed and landing with a graceful roll to his feet, "You should come with us, _we_ have cool cars!"

Andros calmly strolled into the fray, "And I have a _spaceship_ which trumps your silly little land vehicles." He smiled warmly, "Plus, from what I hear about my season's ending, these two literally saved my teams lives. We owe them more than we could possibly pay but it would be my greatest honor to have them on our team."

The Rangers looked at Bulk and Skull, who were in turn looking overwhelmed.

After a few silent seconds, Bulk stubbornly wiped a hand across his eyes. He glared at the Rangers, "You losers are making my eyes water! With disgust! From all these pathetic emotions you're throwing around!" He grabbed Skull by the shirt again and started to storm away, pulling his helpless friend behind him. "We'll make our own team and it'll be the best Power Rangers team ever! It'll have even better gear, better cars _and_ an even awesomer spaceship! Then you'll all want to join our team… and we just might let you!"

Red Jason smiled at their backs, "We'll gladly look forward for that day."

* * *

Indiana Jones had never seen his own movies before. Neither had the Alien Rangers nor the Lost Galaxy Rangers nor most of the Mystic Rangers. So after the ceremony for Bulk and Skull and since Arthur and his parents had left for the day, the Rangers turned on the big screen TV downstairs and had a movie marathon.

And beyond the occasional cases of Theo and Trip blurting out, "Oh, I love this next part!", everyone had to admit that they really enjoyed the first one. Indy was a little annoyed that they had included his dislike of snakes. That information was way too personal and not something he liked being common knowledge. Unfortunately, judging from the superheroes reaction, it was also very funny. Wonderful.

As Alyssa and Tanya put the next disk into the fancy machine, he tore apart a piece of oversized popcorn and stifled a groan as Theo scrambled up next to him.

Theo was practically glowing with excitement. "Are you having fun," he asked.

Indy popped a piece of shredded popcorn in his mouth and chewed, "Had more, had less. It's about neutral right now. What's the name of this next one?"

"The Temple of _Doom_."

He thought about it, he'd been to a lot of temples in his life and it turned out that most of them were in fact deadly. "And which one's that?"

"The one with the temple, of doom, human sacrifice and a little kid in a baseball hat."

"Aaaah yes. Weird though, that actually happened a few years before the Nazi thing. Whoever made these movies needs to get their stories in order."

"You mean, your stories. Right?"

Alyssa and Tanya high fived and the movie credits began to roll. Indy shook his head, "Whatever they put up on that screen is fiction, even if it mirrors exactly what happened to me. Even if that ruggedly handsome face who does heroic things looks like exactly me. We aren't just characters kid, we're people." He paused as his onscreen doppelganger clutched his dying friend, he felt a faint pang. There had been more smoke when Wu Han was killed. He remembered almost choking on it, gasping for breath. "What happened, happened and no matter the gloss they put on it, the pain, the joy, it's real."

* * *

Syd and White Tommy sat facing each other, the tension between them was palpable. A group of twenty assorted Rangers surrounded them, quiet, watching. Tommy twitched and Syd sprang forward, slapping her card on top of the pile, "I win!"

"Dang, I was hoping you didn't have that one!"

Syd laughed, "I've been holding on to it for a moment just like this." She grinned, "I did warn you that you were gonna lose. Just like those other two."

Red and Dr. O all looked away, ashamed that they had lost so easily. s

At first, when the group of four Pink Rangers had challenged the Tommy brigade to a contest of skill, they had laughingly agreed. Then they had found out just how much they under estimated their opponents. Dr. O had been the first to lose to Rose and in a game of tic-tac-toe no less. Then Red Tommy was challenged by and lost to Zeo Kat in six out of ten games of Battleship. That's when the Tommy's started taking the challenges seriously. Challenging Syd to a complex and completely made up card game had been the Tommy's big plan. And after White Tommy loss, the Tommy's scrambled for a shoo win.

So when it was Kimberly who stepped forward from the giggling gaggle of girls, Green Tommy picked something that she should have little chance in, a game of tag. With a grin Kimberly agreed.

Being stronger and confident, he played with her at first. Teasingly, he dodged back and forth, holding back. That backfired after about a minute when Kimberly had stopped playing too. Green Tommy was thrown to the carpet so hard there was a small indention in the floor. He slowly got back on his feet, laughing and congratulating Kimberly on her sneaky blow. She winked at him then dashed away into the tight streets of Rangerville.

And while watching her leap gracefully on the roof of a single story building made of Legos, he realized that this game probably wasn't such a great choice. After all, she was a gymnast. A very good gymnast. The other Tommy's glared at him and he winced. Yeah, bad choice.

"Well," Kat said, not even trying to hide her smirk, "Are you giving up?"

Red Tommy nudged her playfully, "Yeah, right. He's one of us, he doesn't give up."

Kat shrugged, "I don't know, he's still standing there when he should be trying to catch Kim. Seems like giving up to me…"

Green Tommy took off before his older self could continue the joke and say something humiliating.

* * *

Zen-Aku and Villamax exchanged blows.

"Is that all you've got," Zen-Aku taunted. "The Pink ones hit harder than you!"

Villamax grunted, "You should know, they're the only ones you ever fight."

Zen-Aku growled, "That wasn't funny."

"Reality rarely is."

Watching from the sidelines, Goldar and Elgar made wagers as to who would crack and lose control first. Ever since their fellow villains heard that they had volunteered to 'help' the Power Rangers, they were shunned and ignored. Their pleas of ignorance or insistence that they hadn't really fell on deaf ears. They had been outcast from the only group that had grudgingly accepted them. So they mostly hung around Zen-Aku and Villamax, annoying them, getting in their way. Normal for them really.

"Zen-Aku's pretty much a demon," Golder explained. "His self control is pathetic!"

"No, no. I bet Villamax loses it first. He's like, strange."

"No, it'll be the wolf guy, trust me." He leaned in closer, trying to whisper and failing, "He's just uglier. The ugly ones always lose they temper first." He pounded his chest, "That's why I've never lost my temper, I'm the handsomest guy here!"

"No you're not!" Elgar ran a hand over his pointy, bald head, "I'm far more handsome than you!"

They squabbled without progress for a few minutes before Hissta had the misfortune to walk by. The pair surrounded her, invading her personal space.

"Which one of us is more handsome," Goldar asked. "Go on, tell him it's me!"

Elgar pushed closer, "No, me. Me!"

Hissta, panicking, shoved the two away, "You're both crazy!" She quickly slithered away leaving them dumbfounded.

"You moron," Goldar exclaimed, hitting Elgar on the back of his head, "You've scared her away!"

"Hey!, no I didn't! It was you!"

* * *

After searching for more than ten minutes, Tommy decided that Kimberly had too much of a head start. Their simple game of tag had turned into a game of hide and seek. He hadn't even caught a glance of her and anyone he asked just shrugged and walked away. He suspected Kimberly had already been this way and asked them to do just that so he tried to follow the path of people who seemed to be amused whenever he asked. The second he came across a person who just looked confused, he turned a different direction and found the trail again.

Eventually he tracked her down. Feeling slightly annoyed, he walked into the space and stopped. A dozen couples were sitting together on small pieces of a cut up checkered table cloth. Scattered around them were some of the white Christmas lights that normally lit up the buildings. He scanned the crowd and found Kimberly beaming from a piece of cloth on the outer edge of the group.

She gestured to the other side of the cloth, "Well?"

As he sat down he finally noticed the small assortment of food sitting between them. He glanced around, "What's this all about?"

She grinned, "For fun." She nodded at Zeo Kat and Red Tommy sitting not far away. A shadow passed across her face but she shook it off, replacing it with a smile, "It's apparently been awhile since anyone could have a real, date-like, atmosphere and Valentines day is ages away, so we faked this whole 'competition' thing to give some of the others time to put this together behind your backs. Just because."

Tommy still looked confused, "I still don't understand."

Kimberly laughed, "You don't have to." She picked up a sliced piece of cheese, "Just sit back and enjoy the atmosphere."

* * *

Andros and Ashley sat across from each other. Surrounded by happy friends and dim lighting, Andros was in the mood to reminisce. "Do you remember that time the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles took over the Megaship?"

Ashley nodded.

"I really think that should have clued us in to just how big everything is. And I have to admit, when we first got here, I wasn't all that shocked. It just kind of made sense. We'd already had visitors come to our world so why couldn't we go to others."

"I'm glad it did to somebody. I'm still at a loss as to what's going on."

"Well," Andros amended, "I honestly don't have a hundred percent grasp but I could recap the last few months if you would like?"

He said this with such a hopeful tone that all Ashley could do was lean back and laugh, "All right then, regale me."

"First off, we were kidnapped from our universe and brought here."

"Yeah, I noticed that."

"Anyways, the other Power Ranger teams arrived or were already here but things finally picked up when the Mighty Morphin, season one, showed up. Then this crazy snake lady tried to attack the kid whose house we all pretty much live in. She turned out to be working for this mysterious 'Lady' who is the one who did this to us. So we sent a group through a magic wardrobe and into some strange place in the hope that by attacking from both sides, we'll have a chance of actually defeating this all powerful person. In addition to that, some of the villains remembered that they are, after all, evil, stole the Sword of Light which can be used to steal our powers. This Sword is, of course, also the embodiment of a kind of compass leading to some miraculous point in space that is some kind of headquarters for the powers of Light and Justice and all that jazz. And since this point is the only hope against a similar rallying place for the powers of Darkness and Evil it would be bad if said evil villains found out this information since the Sword is the only thing that can destroy the Daylight Singularity. There is a similar Sword for its Midnight cousin but nobody seems to know anything about it so we've mostly forgotten about it. So we sent two teams to deal with them even though they probably won't be enough." He paused for breath, "What else?"

"You forgot our powers."

"Ah, right. On top of all that, most of us don't have any of our abilities or weapons, some of us are missing large swaths of our memories and personalities AND my sister took off on some insane, hopeless recovery mission!" He sprang to his feet, "She could be in serious danger!"

"Andros!, relax." Ashley reached up and pulled him back down, "Karone is a big girl. She's tough." She chuckled, "I remember her kicking _your_ butt a few times."

"Yeah, but…"

"Relax." She leaned even closer, smiling playfully, "Enjoy the atmosphere."

* * *

*AN*

Yeah, writing this was mainly my much needed R&R and I've always wanted to see Bulk and Skull as real Power Rangers so I took it from there and just had fun with it. And yes, the thing with the turtles in a half shell really happened. Gotta love Power Rangers:)

*CL*

Bulk - Mighty Morphin though Lost Galaxy

Skull - Mighty Morphin through In Space

Zordon - Mighty Morphin through In Space

Jason- Red Mighty Morphn

Red Jason – Red Zeo

Red T.J – Red Turbo

Andros – Red In Space

Indian Jones – Raiders of the Lost Ark and Temple of Doom

Theo – Blue Jungle Fury

Trip – Green Time Force

Alyssa – White Wild Force

Tanya – Yellow Zeo

Syd – Pink SPD

Rose – Pink Overdrive

Zeo Kat – Pink Zeo

Kimberly – Pink Mighty Morphin – seasons 1,2 and 3

Dr. O – Black Dino Thunder

Red Tommy – Red Zeo

White Tommy – Mighty Morphin – seasons 2 and 3

Green Tommy – Mighty Morphin – season 1 and 2

Zen-Aku – villain from Wild Force

Villamax – villain from Lost Galaxy

Goldar – villain from Mighty Morphin

Elgar – villain from Turbo

Andros – Red In Space

Ashley – Yellow In Space


	27. Chapter 27: Victory

Chapter 27 - Victory

Psycho Blue slammed the closet door shut, leaving the terrified woman in darkness. He turned to his companions, "That didn't go so well."

"Hey," Charlie said, annoyed, "you're not the one she stepped on. I could kill her for that!"

"Please don't, I don't feel like watching an amateur."

Venjix growled, "Can we get moving now? All this playing around is wasting time."

"Oh like we have time limit," Charlie snarked. "We have all the time in the world."

"Yeah but we should probably be worried about where the rest of you A-Squad morons went," Psycho Blue said. "They were supposed to come through the back after scouting around."

"Naw," Charlie shrugged, "Don't worry about them. If I know them, they're setting things on fire or something. They'll show up eventually."

Psycho Blue shrugged, "Whatever." He nodded at Venjix, "Any clue where this kid's toys are?"

Venjix's light glowed, "The schematics for this home were not available to me."

"Oook. Listen, I honestly don't want to just wander around this house. With us so small, it could take awhile. So, any suggestions on how we can make this go faster?"

Charlie grinned evilly at the closet and its trapped occupant, "I've got an idea."

* * *

Using the Sword of Light as a crutch, Corcus picked himself off the floor. He quickly glanced at the other Rangers. Kira and Psycho Yellow glared daggers at each other; Danny had now moved Trey to his back, carrying him piggy back; and Dana and Flynn were slowly moving between Astronema and Danny. The tension was so thick, they easily heard a trilling bird call from outside. Flynn flinched and the tension broke.

Scowling, Astronema pointed at Corcus, "Sword! _Please_!"

"No," Corcus said, clutching it tighter. "There's no way you're going to get it that easily!"

She shrugged, "Always worth a try."

Ecliptor slowly walked around her and started towards him. Flynn moved to intercept him, "I don't think so Danny-boy."

With a yell, Psycho Yellow lost her self control and sprang at Kira, "You worthless twit! I'll kill you!" The two fought, almost equally balanced. Neither giving ground nor gaining it. But the battle did have the misfortune of distracting the Rangers. And as they turned to instinctively help Kira, Psycho Black leapt over Ecliptor and grabbed the Sword's handle but couldn't seem to take it from Corcus.

Tightening his grip, Corcus snarled, "No!"

Psycho Black rolled his eyes, "Always the heroics."

Danny, looked around in confusion. Dana and Flynn had vanished somewhere in the last few seconds. He could remember them standing in front of him but by the time he looked back from Psycho Yellow attacking Kira, they had vanished somewhere. He sure hoped it was important because now, he had a choice to make. He could help Kira fiend off the furious Psycho, help Corcus defend the key to destroying everything good in the universe or he could run away and protect the unconscious Trey. But he didn't know what to do. He hesitated too long.

Astronema joined the fight with Psycho Yellow, the two easily pushing Kira backwards. Kira tried to separate the two but they both were so much faster than her that it only made it worse. So she retreated, only able to defend herself half the time and taking the other half of the blows.

Psycho Red stepped in between Psycho Black and Corcus, he glared at Black, "You should be stronger than this moron, you pathetic weakling!" Then he turned his gaze on Corcus, "You really aren't as strong as you think you are, little alien boy." As if to prove a point he put his hand on the Sword of Light's blade, it cut deeply into his hand. "When you're strong, no one can stand in your way." He jerked his hand upwards, the blade deepening it's cut into his plastic hand. Corcus slackened his grip in shock. With a smirk, Red put his other hand on the hilt and simply took it, "Aaaand, that's why you and your friends are going to lose."

Corcus shook his head, trying to get the cotton feeling out of it. Such a disregard for his own well being! Sure, he wasn't going to die from blood loss or anything. Not while he was just as plastic as the rest of them but these wounds they received while action figures wouldn't exactly heal either. Instead, plastic grew over the wound like skin would but then it would also fill the cavity. It wouldn't take the shape of any organs or veins that had once been there, it was just a lump of plastic to fill the hole. No one was sure what the effects would be once they were returned to human form so people tried not to cut themselves.

Apparently the Psycho's didn't follow that philosophy.

Danny slowly worked his way towards the overwhelmed Kira, attempting to help her by distracting one of the other women by attacking them while their attention was focused elsewhere. He wouldn't be able to do it for long, not with while carrying Trey too but if he could distract them long enough for Kira to get away, it would be enough. But he had forgotten about the silent general standing in the doorway.

Ecliptor put a firm hand on his shoulder, pulling him away from the fighting trio. He looked down at him, "No."

Danny desperately tried to get around him, faking punches then dodging the other way, kicking high then leaping to the side. But Ecliptor was stronger than he seemed and Danny was already slowed down by Trey. When he would simply move, he could feel Trey threatening to overbalance him. Thinking quickly, he had to carefully readjust his entire fighting style. It took him a few seconds but soon Danny was using Trey's extra weight for his own advantage. When he needed his punch to have some extra kick to it, he would turn the opposite way then punch, brining Trey's momentum plus his own, behind the punch.

Ecliptor hadn't been expecting this. He lost steam quickly and was soon pushed back. Just as Astronema tripped Kira, Ecliptor was forced to collide with a leaping Psycho Yellow. The pair hit the ground with a thud. Astronema abandoned Kira and ran to help Ecliptor, throwing Psycho Yellow aside.

Danny helped Kira stand, "You all right?"

"Yeah, thanks." They quickly joined Corcus before Astronema, Ecliptor and Psycho Yellow could recover.

Corcus had started fighting Psycho Red and Black too but he was so outmatched that by the time Danny and Kira arrived to help, he was panting against a wall, holding one arm like it had been twisted. Kira and Danny took defensive positions in front of him.

Astronema and Ecliptor joined Psycho Red and Black. Psycho Yellow limped over, now alternating her glares between Kira and Astronema.

Five to four, the Rangers were outnumbered, outmatched and outclassed. The Psycho Rangers had the Sword but they didn't seem to want to leave any witnesses behind.

Kira and Danny dropped into fighting poses, they weren't going down easily.

Suddenly, the wall behind the four crashed down, rotten wood showering over them. Dana and Flynn leapt through the hole but they weren't alone. Just behind them, Karone, Gemma, Trent and Carter all filed through the hole. They arranged planted themselves next to Kira and Danny. Ten to five, it was the Psycho Rangers who now were outnumbered. And these newly arrived Rangers didn't look as worn out as the ones they had been playing with were.

Psycho Red held up the Sword of Light, the blade glistened in the beam sunlight, "It doesn't matter, we still have this Sword. Farewell Rangers, you won't see us again." He smiled, "Until it's too late." With that, the Psycho Rangers and Ecliptor sprinted out of the dog house. The newly arrived Power Rangers started to follow but after they got a good look at their tired and injured friends, they decided the universe could wait.

* * *

A-Squad Pink glared at A-Squad Yellow, "You really are a moron you know."

Yellow hung his head in shame, "Yeah, I know."

Jack O'Neill hit the cages, rattling the paperclip bars, "Shut it!" He turned back to the others, "They're chatty, aren't they?"

"I'd be chatty too if I were some kind of tight wearing super hero," the Ninth Doctor said. "Distract me from my own stupidity."

"Says the guy flying around in a big blue telephone box," O'Neill said.

Nine flared, turning to O'Neill, "Hey, at least I've got a box. What's the best you have, that silly little gate?"

"Hey, don't knock the gate! It…" O'Neill started but when he couldn't think of a good retort, he finished lamely, "it spins."

Nine smirked. Carter and Rose rolled their eyes.

"It's strange," Egon said, pointing his scanner at the captured A-Squad Rangers, "They have the same energy signature as Trip but they don't seem to be as polite."

"I think," Peter said, "it's 'cause they're the bad guys." He poked A-Squad Blue, "Right Spider-Boy?"

Blue glared at him, gnashing his fangs.

Peter laughed, "Please, I'm from New York! I've _squashed_ spiders scarier than you. Bigger too." He turned to the others, "Did I ever tell you about that time we…"

"Can we keep on topic," Izzy asked, interrupting. His glasses were reflecting lines of code streaming across his computer screen. "With Egon's help, I've analyzed the energy fields coming off these three and have come to the conclusion that they are not from our universe."

O'Neill stared, "_Really?_ That's the best you could come up with? Well we kinda already knew that!" He turned to Carter, "Why aren't you doing this again? When you babble away at least I know things are getting done. He's just running in circles!"

"Sorry sir, I'm kinda busy too." She looked it too. Rose and Donna were helping her move a complicated looking piece of equipment from one end of the desk to the other. "We still need to calibrate it."

The Tenth Doctor sprang onto the table, "Aaaaand that's where I come in. I'm good at calibrating." He grinned happily. "Also an excellent chief."

Izzy frowned, "Could we not have anyone else come up here, please. It's messing with my readings." He pressed a few keys, "Have to recalibrate the scanner every single time."

"Sorry", Ten said with a rueful shrug, "I just can't seem to stay away from the action. I think it's a disease."

A Squad Pink beat the walls of her cage again, "I demand that you release us! Now!"

"Now, see, I'm afraid we can't do that," Ten said, sauntering over to her. "See little Trip told us about you people. And you're not really all that nice, are you? For example, if we were to let you out, what would be the first thing you'd do?"

"I'd rip your throat out," Pink said with a growl.

"See what I mean? Why in the world would we want to let you out?"

"I've got something," Izzy exclaimed excitedly. The others working on the table stopped and looked at him, waiting. He pointed to A-Squad Blue, "This one's an alien from another planet!"

O'Neill growled something decidedly not PG, "Carter, get over here. _Now._"

Carter sighed and stopped working on the machine, Nine and Ten jostled each other for the spot. She walked over to Izzy, putting a gentle hand on his shoulder, "You'd better let me take over from here, Izzy. I don't think the Colonel can hold on to his temper much longer."

* * *

Psycho Blue watched the proceedings through a small crack in the door. He couldn't hear what the figures on the table were saying but he could tell by their actions to the A-Squad Rangers that they weren't going to be on his side. He scanned the rest of the room. Small clusters of figures were scattered around, some just sitting and talking, others playing games. There were a lot of them. Far too many for them to simply barge in. He looked up on the shelf, spotting the figure this entire trip had been about. It was on the very top row. He blinked. And lucky day, there was a air vent just above it. He grinned.

* * *

Psycho Pink quietly lifted the grate from the hole. A-Squad Green helped her gently set it down inside the duct.

Psycho Blue peeked over the opening. "All clear," he whispered.

Slowly Charlie slid through, landing with a soft thud on the shelf. She paused, doing a quick scan of the room to make sure they were still unnoticed. When no one shouted an alarm, she looked up and gestured. Psycho Blue and A-Squad Green carefully lowered Venjix down using some thick string they'd found. Charlie steadied him and once he was down, cut the string with a sharp piece of glass. The target was still a few inches away, too far.

Venjix's light blinked twice but he didn't speak.

Charlie got the message. She motioned back to the grate and Psycho Blue jumped down next to her. Together they tipped Venjix onto his side and rolled him the few inches.

Once they were within an inch of the Terminator action figure, Venjix's light began to glow. It brightened until neither Charlie nor Psycho Blue could look at it. They turned away and closed their eyes as they heard shouting below them. They had been noticed.

After a few seconds, the light dimmed completely and when they looked back, Charlie saw herself. A perfect mirror copy of herself. She blinked.

Copy-Charlie's mouth opened but it wasn't her voice that came out, it was Venjix's. "Well done," his voice boomed. "I am again mobile." His form changed, flickering not only through his previous bodies but also through the various Power Rangers. He settled on something new. Dark black hair with glowing red eyes, he stood taller than Psycho Blue by a good few inches. He grinned, showing unnaturally sharp teeth, "_Nothing _can stop me now."

* * *

*AN*

Ok, so what's scarier than an unstoppable computer virus that wants to destroy/enslave all humanity? An unstoppable computer virus that wants to destroy/enslave all humanity inside a T-1000 that can change its appearance on a whim.

And the Psycho Rangers have the Sword of Light. Again.

Venjix could destroy the world, again, and the Psycho's could destroy everything good in any universe!

How much worse can it get?

….;)

*CL*

**Search and Destroy Team 1 **

Dana – Pink Lightspeed Ranger

Corcus – Black Alien Ranger

Danny – Black Wild Force Ranger

Flynn – Blue RPM Ranger

Trey – original Gold Zeo Ranger

Kira – Yellow Dino Thunder Ranger

**Search and Destroy Team 2**

Karone – Pink Galaxy Ranger

Gemma – Silver RPM Ranger

Trent – White Dino Thunder Ranger

Carter – Red Lightspeed Ranger

**The Competent Crew(CC)**

**CC Team 1**

**(Sword of Light)**

Black Psycho Ranger

Red Psycho Ranger

Yellow Psycho Ranger

Astronema

Ecliptor

**CC Team 2**

**(with Venjix)**

Blue Psycho Ranger

Pink Psycho Ranger

A-Squad Green

A-Squad Red(Charlie)

Venjix

**(captured)**

A-Squad Blue

A-Squad Yellow

A-Squad Pink

**Other Story Characters**

O'Neill – Stargate SG1

Carter – Stargate SG1

The Ninth Doctor – Doctor Who

Rose – Doctor Who

Martha – Doctor Who

Donna – Doctor Who

Izzy – Digimon

The Tenth Doctor – Doctor Who


	28. Chapter 28: Pizza Party

Chapter 28 – Pizza Party

Ernie walked as quickly as he dared. He couldn't outright run, it would look too suspicious but he needed to get to his destination fast. His friends, Billy(he still couldn't believe that quiet Billy was a Power Rangers!) and Tommy, were in trouble. Trevor was not the nicest of people although he acted like it around those who followed him. He was ruthless but polite about it.

Luckily the streets were mostly empty. The presence of real Power Rangers had the hodgepodge of citizens excitedly following them in the center of the town. Maybe excitedly wasn't the best word. Angrily would fit better. But he still had to keep a low profile, walk slowly and keep the panic off his face. Trevor was smart and had ways to spy that people weren't sure how to explain. He passed one of Trevors men and nodded to him. The man looked him over then nodded back, continuing past him. He sighed in relief.

His journey took him past the outer edges of what started as Angel Grove and through the forest. His destination was the ruins of Terra Venture. No one went there anymore. Not since they'd buried the bodies on that terrible day so many months ago. But that also made the ruins the perfect hide out for someone no one knew was there.

* * *

Trevor led the way in their bizarre parade. He practically pranced as the six Rangers followed. He didn't take a direct path to the Ring, which was surely his destination. Instead, he looped around the miss-matched town, pointing out all the oddities and strange places. They looped twice around the outer edge of the city then slowly worked their way inward.

Still trying to find a way out of the situation but unable to voice their opinions, the Rangers resorted to knowing glances or dancing eyebrows. It took awhile to get a system working and there were still plenty of misunderstandings but soon, they had pretty much figured out what Trevor was up to. He was wasting time for some reason.

Trevor stopped in front of a pizza parlor and pointed to it, "I'm sure you'll recognize this one. Jungle Karma Pizza, base of operations of the mighty Jungle Force Power Rangers!" He walked up to it and threw the door open, "Shall we?"

Wondering what he was up to, the Rangers filed into the pizzeria.

Trevor walked proudly up to the counter. He banged his hand on the counter a few times, "Service!"

A timid looking girl peeked around the corner. She spotted Trevor and she recoiled but upon seeing the other Power Rangers, she rushed forward excitedly. "Power Rangers! Oh, you've come back!"

Trevor looked annoyed "They're my _prisoners_. They're not here to _save_ you."

Fran's face fell, "Oh." She messed with a rag she was carrying, "Ok."

Trevor slapped the counter again, "Now, how about whipping up my friends, I mean captives, up some pizza? I'm famished!" He turned to Rangers, "So, what do you guys like on your Pizza?"

The Rangers stared at him, silent.

"Ok then, I'll just guess." He turned back to Fran, "How about one with everything, one with nothing and one with most."

Fran nodded and retreated back to the kitchen.

Trevor waved at Summer and Vida, "Why don't you ladies help her out?"

Vida started towards him furiously, "Hey, I don't…" Summer stopped her with a small shake of her head. They walked around the counter and into the kitchen.

Trevor led the four male Rangers to a large circular table in the corner. He propped his feet up on the table and leaned back in the booth. "Isn't this nice? The girls are making us good food and us guys have time to bond." He sighed, "This is how it should be."

Angry, Alex protested, "That _is not_ how it's supposed to be! What is this, the stone ages?"

Trevor shrugged, "Ah yes, I remember hearing about you. Alex, the Red Time Force Ranger. You like your women strong. You like it so they can walk all over you. Yeah, she walked all over you and on to someone else, didn't she? You're a pathetic loser, huh?"

Alex stood, nearly tipping the table. "You are a complete monster."

Trevor raised an eyebrow, "_Me_ the monster? What about you guys? You left your stations, left all these people defenseless. _You're_ the monsters, I merely stepped when they needed me."

Mack stepped in to stop a pointless fight. Alex wouldn't win. Even if he did, what good would it do? The crowd outside the building was hostile to them and that fight against helpless civilians they would lose before it started. "Trevor."

Trevor turned his mocking eyes from Alex to Mack, giving Alex time to regain control over his temper. "Yes, Astro-Mack?"

Mack flinched but continued, "What is your goal?"

"What do you mean, robo-boy?"

"What are you up to? Why did you take over the town?"

"I didn't take it over, weren't you listening, mecha-Mack? I _saved them_."

"From what?"

Trevor leaned back even more and leaned back his head. "You weren't here." He looked at each of them slowly, "You don't realize just how much these people depended on you, even if they usually refused to admit it. They felt safe knowing the powerful Power Rangers were there to stop the scary bad guys from eating them in their sleep. Of course, this meant that when weird things started happening, when buildings, spaceships, entire pieces of land fell from the sky, and the Power Rangers didn't show, they panicked. I didn't save them from some gigantic monster or some alien menace, I saved them from _themselves_. There were guys beating each other up over squares of cheese, for goodness sake! I stepped in and took charge when no one else would. Even after Colonel Tough Guy even showed up, I was the one who organized relief teams to go out and save those trapped in the Aquabase and Terra Venture. He sat in his little dome and hid from it all. What happened to Terra Venture is enough to make the most well adjusted, battle hardened Angel Grove citizen lose it."

He was silent for a few seconds. "You know, I think it even made _me_ lose it. I never thought of myself as a bad guy. Evil, sure, but not a bad guy. I fought against the Dino Rangers because I had to. I didn't want to die. Then all this happened and I found myself carrying and burying people I'd never even met. And crying about it, comforting hundreds of people. Gave me a whole new prospective on things."

He sat up, kicking his feet off the table, "So, you're right, Rangers, this is _my_ town. But not because I conquered it, not because I have giant monsters stomping around terrorizing people. No, these people will do what I say because I've earned their trust and they glare at you because you've lost it. Lost their trust _and_ their respect. And you know what, I'm going to protect them. From _you_."

"It's not our fault," Chad protested. "We were kidnapped and turned into tiny action figures!"

Trevor huffed, "Yeah and I'm sure you tried so hard to get back. I'm sure all your thoughts were on all those citizens you'd left behind. I'm sure you weren't just sitting around for the last few months, engaging in wacky high-jinks." When they didn't answer him he shook his head and stood. He glared around the table then started walking quickly towards the kitchen, "I'll see what's keeping our food."

* * *

Sitting on top of the nearby counter, Vida watched Fran toss the spinning dough in the air, "Is it hard to learn how to do that?"

Fran tossed it again, 'It took me awhile. Even now, I normally only catch four out of five tosses." She dropped the dough onto the table, it looked perfectly round. She walked over to the cabinets and started shuffling through the containers, "Now where did I put that sauce?"

Summer picked up the jar of red sauce sitting next to the dough. "This it?"

Fran spun, face lighting up, "Yes! I'm always doing that!" She took the jar and dumped a considerable amount onto the dough. She took a spoon and spread it out evenly. She looked at Summer, "I don't recognize you. What's your name?"

Summer smiled, "I'm Summer Landsdown, I'm the Yellow RPM Ranger. After your time, I think." She leaned closer to Fran and lowered her voice, "Fran, why did Trevor treat you like that? With scorn? He didn't seem to treat any of the other people like that."

"Besides Mason," Vida pointed out. "Fakie-the-not-Ranger definitely didn't like him."

Fran shrugged, still messing with the sauce, "I donno…" She walked across the room and returned with arms full of ingredients. She started laying them out on the table. "I guess…I guess it's just because we're the ones who didn't give up on you guys." She picked up a can of anchovies and opened it, "He treats Colonel Mason and his troops, and me I guess, Ernie and a few other people I don't know the names of like we're delusional. I think he _needs_ for everyone to give up on the Rangers ever rescuing them from this place. He's in here twice a week trying to convince me that I've been abandoned. Left behind." She slammed a container of pepperonis on the table, suddenly angry, "But my friends wouldn't do that! I know it!" She blushed and her voice softened, "Dominic wouldn't do that…"

Vida and Summer exchanged amused glances. "Isn't Dominic that studley White Rhino Ranger," Vida asked, teasing.

Fran blushed furiously, quickly distracting herself with perfectly laying out the chunks of hamburger meat.

Summer chuckled but then remembered where they were, "Hey, Fran."

Fran looked up, pausing in her work.

"What's inside 'the Ring'?" She made air quotes for the last two words.

Fran blinked a few times before again busying herself with the pizza, "You don't want to know."

"We do," Vida said, dropping off the counter and onto the floor, "because with our luck, that's where we're headed."

"We think he's just wasting time," Summer continued, "showing us the town like this. Feeding us. He's up to something and we're pretty sure it involves that dark place in the middle of the city."

Fran finished laying out the ingredients and gingerly put the pizza on a large wooden paddle. She walked it over to the oven where a hot, open fire was waiting. She put it in and closed the lid. She turned back to the two Rangers, "People go in there, and they don't come back. I've seen it myself."

"That's what Colonel Mason said," Summer said. "But _what's in there_?"

Fran started looking nervous, "Really, you don't want to know. It's a very scary place."

"Wait," Vida said, realizing something. "If no one's ever come out of there, then how do you even know that it's a scary place? Who told you?"

"I did."

The Rangers spun to find Trevor standing in the doorway. In their push for information, they hadn't even heard him come in.

Trevor grinned, "I don't keep secrets from my people. I don't have some kind of secret identity or hidden base. I do everything right out in the open." He nodded at Fran, "Go ahead Fran, tell them what I told you."

Fran started shaking, she looked away from the Rangers. "Inside the Ring, is the reason we're all here."

"What do you mean," Summer pressed. "Why are we here?"

Fran shook her head but didn't say anything.

Trevor answered once it became obvious that Fran wouldn't. "You're here because my boss, the creator and keeper of all this magnificent chaos, is going to find the source of all your powers and she's going to give it," he paused for dramatic effect, "to me." He waved his hands excitedly, "I won't just be the Trent's shadow anymore! I'll be the strongest, and only, Power Ranger! Then the people will have a champion that doesn't abandon them, that won't leave them in a place like this. I'll become all powerful, then I'll start making this chaotic world into a utopia. Free of monsters, free of Power Rangers. The perfect place."

"Are you insane," Vida asked flatly. "You really think the Lady's going to let you do that? She's evil incarnate! She'll double cross you the first chance she gets."

"I know," Trevor said. "And that is why I'll turn on her first. I may be evil, a kind kind of evil, but I'm not stupid."

* * *

The late afternoon lunch was a quiet and stressful affair. Summer and Vida couldn't discuss what they knew with the others. Not with Trevor sitting between them, grinning like an idiot. He didn't seem to notice the tension. He tried chatting and joking but the guys had caught onto the girls mood and were having none of it. Eventually, once the pizza was gone and the dishes cleaned up, Trevor led the Rangers out of the pizzeria. But not before throwing a parting shot at Fran. "All this was fun, Franny my girl, the atmosphere, the _company_. But savor it as it won't be happening again."

* * *

After what Trevor referred to as the Pizza Party, he continued his pointless tour of the town.

Summer and Vida were able to relay what they'd discovered through the well tried method of distracting Trevor then whispering quietly behind his back.

Eventually, they stopped again. Trevor nodded at the familiar looking mansion in front of them, "You know, you'd think superheroes would live a little more discreetly but hey, you're not me. Ay, Mack-atron?"

Mack glared at him angrily, "What did you do to my home?"

The Hartford Mansion, base of operations for the Operation Overdrive Rangers, had been repainted. The once cream colored exterior had been repainted white. The bushes and flowers out front had been replaced with effigies of some of the more famous Power Rangers. The giant dolls all had terrifying faces, with angry eyes and sharp, pointed, teeth. Some of them were missing arms or legs, others were horribly disfigured. Tommy noticed that his four were all grouped together, and were charred like they had been set on fire then put out.

Trevor took a moment to enjoy their shock and horror then walked past the grotesque display and knocked on the door. Slowly the door opened and a robotic voice chirped, "Good day Rangers!" The small robot stumbled into the light, his normally bright dome flickering, his bright red paint chipped or fading. Alpha 5 stood on the steps and stared without eyes at the Rangers. They could feel his confusion and pain. "Why did you abandon me? Why did you leave me behind?"

* * *

*AN*

Coming back after a long time away can be difficult sometimes. Some people will accept you back with open arms and huge smiles. Others will resent you for every second you were gone. It usually just depends on the person. But if you happened to have been gone when something bad or frightening happened in their life, that resent can turn to hatred. And one angry person in a crowd can make the entire crowd furious. A furious crowd does stupid things sometimes and their anger is harder to abate than a single persons as it is essentially a self-fueling machine. Now the Rangers find themselves faced with a challenge they've never fought before, a furious city led by a utopia-dreaming clone and backed by the very force that tore their worlds apart in the first place. How will they get out of this one?

Also, poor Alpha 5!

*Character List*

**Mystery Universe Team**

Billy Cranston - Mighty Morphin Blue

Tommy – Red Turbo but remembers Zeo

Chad Lee – Blue Lightspeed Rescue

Alex – Red Time Force

Vida Rocca – Pink Mystic Force

Mack Hartford – Red Operation Overdrive

Summer Landsdown – Yellow RPM

**Mystery Universe Inhabitants**

Fran – Friend of the Jungle Fury Power Rangers, helps run the Jungle Karma Pizzeria

Colonel Mason – Commander of Corinth in RPM

Ernie – Owner of the Juice Bar from Mighty Morphin to Zeo

Soldiers – from assorted seasons

Evil White Dino Clone(I'm calling him Trevor) – a 'soulless' clone of the White Dino Ranger Powers, which belonged to Trent, created by Mesogog(Dino Thunder).

Alpha 5 – robotic assistant to Zordon (Mighty Morphin to Zeo)

People from every city in Power Rangers history


	29. Chapter 29: Those They Left Behind

Chapter 29 – Those They Left Behind

Billy ran forward, hands moving quickly over Alpha 5's damaged form. "Alpha, what happened?" Furious beyond anything he'd felt before, he grabbed the front of Trevor's suit, "What did you do!"

Trevor, surprised by the normally calm Billy's vicious outburst, held up his hands in mock surrender, "Hey, I didn't do anything. I found him this way!"

Billy dropped Trevor's suit and went back to Alpha 5. He knelt down, taking Alpha 5's rusty metal hands in his own, "Alpha, what happened?"

Alpha's dome lit up sporadically, "I…You…" His lights went out for a few seconds then all came back on at once, brighter than before, "I was abandoned! I woke up in the Command Center but there was no one there! You were gone! Zordon was gone! I tried to look for you in the viewing globe but there was no power! I waited…I waited…I waited…I waited…I waited…"

Realizing he was stuck in a loop, Billy gently knocked Alpha 5's dome.

Alpha jumped and continued as if nothing had happened. "I waited for days, hoping someone would show up! I thought we were still under attack! I thought…I thought…I thought maybe you had all been hurt or…or…or… killed! And when you still didn't come, I went to look for you."

Trevor interrupted, "I found him at the bottom of a really big hill. It looked like he fell down it. More than once."

"I was trying to…trying to…trying to climb higher and see if I could find you," Alpha 5 explained. "I remember Trini talking about what to do when you've lost someone. You get to a high place and look for them. I looked for you but I couldn't….I couldn't… I couldn't find you. You abandoned me."

Billy looked earnestly at Alpha 5, "Alpha we would never, never, abandon you like that. Never." He continued more gently, "You know that."

"But…but…but…" The lights on Alpha 5's visor spun around the rim like he was confused.

Billy looked back up at Trevor, eyes burning again, "Did _he_ tell you that?"

Tommy, sensing that his gentle friend was about to lose his temper, took over. He firmly stepped beside Billy, "No more of this Trevor. We get it. We left these people behind, we weren't around to protect them. And that was wrong. If we could, we give our last breaths to protect them but it was a situation beyond our control." Tommy paused and nodded, "Though you were right, we didn't spend every waking second trying to get back to them and we should have. We forgot about our responsibilities and let other things take forefront. We owe these people a very lengthy apology. But I swear if you don't stop parading us around to wallow in the mountain guilt we're all feeling, I'll take you down _right now_."

Alex, quickly walked forward, "Tell us what you want. Now."

Trevor hesitated. He hadn't actually planned on confronting the Rangers. They were just supposed to wither away from their guilt, go live in the forest or something. They weren't needed just yet. He wished suddenly that he'd just had them thrown out of the city the moment they showed their helmeted faces at least then he could have had an excuse to fight them. And win. Give the people a moral boost. But now that he'd gotten to know them, he…somewhat admired them. How would he create the perfect world if he admired the very people he was out to get rid of? Well, he'd brought them in to boast and now he had to deal with the consequences.

He blinked, stumbling on an idea. He motioned for the Rangers to enter the mansion, "We'll talk about it inside."

Billy stood stubbornly next to Alpha 5, "I'm going to fix Alpha 5 first."

Trevor shrugged, "Well, we can talk in the lab. Plenty of tools and stuff in there." Plus a small surprise. He wondered how they'd react. If their reaction to Alpha was anything to go by, the next few minutes would be tense.

Billy nodded and helped lead Alpha 5 inside.

* * *

The Operation Overdrive lab had been redecorated since the last time Mack had been in there. "Again, dude, what did you do to my house?" He stared at the lime green walls and glowing blue lights, the chrome furniture and bright purple floor. "And were you insane while doing it?"

"Hey, I didn't do this," Trevor said, leading them further in. "I just gave them the space."

"Them," Chad asked. "Them who?"

Three figures appeared from around the corner, arguing.

One of the two women was chastising the sole man between them, "I don't care what you meant by it, I took offense to it."

They noticed the Rangers and stopped.

Recognizing one of them, Chad started forward instantly. He opened his arms to embrace her, "Angela! Angela! You're all right!"

The woman on the right stared at him suspiciously, "How do you know my name?"

Chad's sprint slowed, "Angela?" He reached her and she took a step backwards, still regarding him with suspicion. Chad gestured to himself, smiling, "Angela, it's me." When Angela showed no recognition, he repeated the gesture with a wider, more desperate smile, "It's Chad… Chad Lee." Angela took another step backwards and her companions began to move towards him. He tugged on his uniform, "The Blue Lightspeed Rescue Ranger!"

Angela's eyes cleared, "Oh! That's my team, isn't it?"

Chad nodded, extremely confused. "Yeah…"

Angela held out her hand, smiling, "Angela Fairweather, nice to meet you Chad Lee."

Chad shook her hand, with a frown, "You too…Angela."

Angela shook her finger, "That's Ms. Fairweather to you."

Chad nodded silently and made his way back to the others. His mind reeled, did Angela really not remember him? Sure, they hadn't been best friends but fighting the forces of evil with someone tended to leave a mark. The further he walked from her, and the more she didn't call out his name and laugh at the wonderful joke she'd just played on him, the more he was sure that Angela Fairweather honestly had forgotten all about him. He reached the group and stopped but continued staring off at nothing. His pain distanced him from his friends.

Trevor smiled sympathetically at him, although he felt a little smug inside, "Sorry, forgot to warn you. Found them like that too. No memories other than their names and a general background of their lives before they ever met any Power Rangers. The other two are Hayley, who helped run Tommy run the Dino Thunder team, and..."

"Daggeron," Vida said with a sharp snarl, watching the three mentors continue to argue about something they couldn't hear, "And the guy, that's Daggeron?"

Trevor nodded, "Yes." He pointed to the other side of the lab, "The tools are over there Billy, have at it."

Billy nodded in thanks and led Alpha 5 to the large wall of complicated looking machinery. "Don't worry buddy, we'll fix you up."

"What happened to him," Vida asked, watching Daggeron with a mixture of anger and sadness. Chad echoed the question, keeping Angela in the corner of his eye.

"I don't know. Like I said, I just found them like that."

"You say that a lot," Summer noted. "I wonder how often it's actually true?"

Chad leaned towards him, threateningly, "If you did _anything_, I mean _anything_, to hurt her…them…"

"Look, I don't want to hurt anyone." Summer rolled her eyes and he amended, "Hey, I _don't_ want to hurt anyone but I will if I have to! I didn't hurt any of them. They came that way."

"Came from where," Tommy asked, hoping to gain some clue as to where they had been before being turned into action figures.

Trevor shrugged and sat down on a barstool sitting next to a long counter, "I guess you're wondering why I brought you here?"

"Well, I'm wondering about a lot more than that but it's near the top of the list," Alex said, taking a seat nearby. "So why did you put yourself in a position where the six of us can easily beat you up and without any of your minions to help you?" The other Rangers moved the slightest bit closer as if to emphasize his words.

Trevor realized how precarious his position was. He swallowed. His bravado had gone with the crowd, his confidence dropped slightly. Maybe this had been best discussed with a room full of trusted henchmen who wouldn't blab everything he was about to say. But, hey, you live and you learn. He started to explain. "Listen, I don't like you guys. I really, really don't like you."

Alex snorted, "Ooo, I never would have guessed that!"

Trevor glared, "I don't like _any_ Power Ranger, Future-Boy, or _any_one who would just abandon those they had sworn to protect." When Tommy opened his mouth to argue, he raised a hand to stop him, "You said that you didn't have a choice in the matter and I believe you but that doesn't bring those hundreds of people back to life. You failed them, no matter what the circumstances," His mouth twisted and he said bitterly, "and I've had to pick up your pieces and try to glue them back together." He stood and started pacing, "But see, the pieces don't fit anymore and now there's just a lot of them missing! I can't put the puzzle back together the way it was originally." He mashed his hand into his fist, "So I'm going to melt the old puzzle then reform it into a new one."

"One without us," Mack asked, remembering his earlier rant. "Without monsters and Power Rangers?"

"Exactly."

Summer shrugged, "I've lived in a world without monsters, for a few years. I wouldn't be opposed to living in one again. In fact, it's what I've been fighting for."

"Me too," Tommy agreed.

"And me," Vida added.

"Yeah," Chad said, still distracted.

Mack shrugged, "Me too."

They all looked at Alex who quickly joined in, "Yeah, sure, me too."

Trevor smiled, "So our goals don't conflict, good." He faced the Rangers but interrupted him again.

"We said we wouldn't mind living in a world without monsters, and trust us, we wouldn't but I can promise you that if that means anyone gets hurt, you'll find yourself facing half a dozen upset Power Rangers."

Haley, Daggeron and Angela all walked over. Haley looked Tommy up and down, "Like we're scared of you."

Tommy blinked, "What?"

"You heard me. We are not scared of big muscular men in spandex who sometimes have superpowers." She pointed at Daggeron, "We've got our own Solar Knight who could wipe the floor with you." She pointed casually to the far wall where Billy was working with a bunch of complicated looking machines, "And if I point any one of those things at you…well, you won't have a very nice day. Understand?"

Trevor held up a hand, "All right Hayley, they understand. I don't want anyone getting hurt just yet. We'll need them for later."

Mack thought Trevor's casual and straight forward attitude was kind of refreshing. He was upfront about how he wanted to use the Rangers but he still hadn't said exactly what for. Then again most of their enemies weren't the best at hiding their intentions in the first place. He wanted to get rid of the monsters and Power Rangers but how? Mack asked.

Trevor paused, again considering whether or not to tell the Rangers his plan for them. They might not like it. He looked at Angela, Hayley and Daggeron, they were watching the Rangers with distrust. He knew a little about their past, mostly from what he'd from some of the townspeople. They were the Power Rangers friends and, over the past few months, he'd come to think of them as his friends too. Once they regained their memories, as he had no doubt that they eventually would, he didn't want them thinking less of him because he put their friends into harm without telling them what they were up against. He sighed, "I've come to realize over the short walk through town that these people, these citizens you've protected for so many years, as enthusiastic as they are for wanting to live in a monster/Ranger free world… they aren't soldiers. I've turned them into a mob. I admit, I kind of enjoyed it, riling them up against you but the looks of sheer hatred…they're not soldiers. I can't take them into battle!" He stared upward at the ceiling, "I'll need your help."

* * *

Alex was vehement, "We are not _helping_ him!"

"Why not," Chad asked, looking around at the other Rangers circled around them. "His goal is kinda the same as ours."

"Yeah, big on the kinda there Chad," Summer remarked. "Not that I wouldn't mind being normal again, but something tell me he would just turn on us after all is said and done. He looks the type. Besides, you all heard what Colonel Mason said about him. We can't trust him."

"Exactly," Alex exclaimed. "So, we're not going to help him!"

Mack coughed, "I think we should. I vote yes." And just like that it became a vote. Alex and Summer voting no, Mack and Chad voting yes while Tommy and Vida continued to think about it. Vida finally raised her hand to vote for while Tommy shook his head, "I vote no."

They turned to Billy for the tie breaker. Billy, who was still frantically trying to fix Alpha 5, started when he realized his friends were all staring at him. "What?"

"Were you listening to any of that," Vida asked.

Billy grinned sheepishly, "No."

Mack laughed, "Well we're trying to decide whether or not to team up with Trevor and take down the chick who started all this. We've got Alex, Summer and Tommy voting no and Chad, Mack and Vida saying yes. What say you?"

"No," Billy said, "no! We're not helping the guy who did this," he gestured at the damaged Alpha 5, "to Alpha! No way."

"He says he didn't do that," Vida pointed out. "He said he found him that way."

"I meant that he didn't even try to fix him," Billy said angrily. "He just let him suffer. I'm not helping him."

Realizing that the others were intent on not helping Trevor, Chad tried one more thing to convince them. "We'd be helping them," he said, covertly pointing at Hayley, Daggeron and Angela. "We'd be helping the people of our towns that we'd sworn to protect. If Trevor goes to war, they'd follow. They'd get hurt, or worse, killed. Don't we owe it to them, to make sure that doesn't happen?"

Summer frowned. She didn't think of it that way. But now that she was, it made sense. Colonel Mason and the rest of Corinth city was in danger, by proxy, yes, but still in danger. "All right."

Tommy nodded too, "Yes."

Alex and Billy glanced at each other. They each had their own reasons for not wanting to help the Trent's clone, Billy because his friend had been left to suffer and Alex because he heated the thought of teaming up with a bad guy. But the more they thought about the people they'd left here would get hurt, the more they softened. Finally they shrugged.

"Fine," Alex said. "But we have a plan ready for when Trevor turns on us too."

Vida grinned, "Deal!"

* * *

*AN*

Sorry guys! I know it's been a month since I last updated and I'm so sorry it took that long. Life's just been kinda crazy in more ways than I thought possible and I'm sure you don't want me monologing about them so we'll leave it at that. But since schools almost over and summers so close I constantly crave snow cones, this'll probably be the last time it happens. Again, sorry for the delay but thanks for sticking through it:)

*CL*

**Mystery Universe Team**

Billy Cranston - Mighty Morphin Blue

Tommy – Red Turbo but remembers Zeo

Chad Lee – Blue Lightspeed Rescue

Alex – Red Time Force

Vida Rocca – Pink Mystic Force

Mack Hartford – Red Operation Overdrive

Summer Landsdown – Yellow RPM

**Mystery Universe Inhabitants**

Fran – Friend of the Jungle Fury Power Rangers, helps run the Jungle Karma Pizzeria

Colonel Mason – Commander of Corinth in RPM

Ernie – Owner of the Juice Bar from Mighty Morphin to Zeo

Soldiers – from assorted seasons

Evil White Dino Clone(I'm calling him Trevor) – a 'soulless' clone of the White Dino Ranger Powers, which belonged to Trent, created by Mesogog(Dino Thunder).

Hayley – Co-Mentor to Dino Thunder Rangers – Lost her memory

Daggeron – Ancient Warrior who assists the Mystic Force Rangers - lost his memory

Angela – Scientist from Lightspeed Rescue - lost her memory

People from every city in Power Rangers history


	30. Chapter 30: A Shady Past

Chapter 30(THIRTY!) – A Shady Past

Daggeron, the Solaris Knight, woke up from a terrifying nightmare. But as he blinked, he wondered if he was still dreaming. His brain felt sluggish and his eyes couldn't seem to focus, the world in front of him was hazy as if he were seeing it through dirty glass. He tried to move but he felt some force oppose he efforts. Something was holding his legs, feet and neck in place.

There was a world outside his cage, seen through the small window his head was facing.

Boxes. Rows and rows of rectangular boxes rose above a long shining table. The boxes stretched as far as he could see, above and to the sides. Was it just his still-dreaming brain, or were there blurred figures in those boxes? He must be in a similar box as well. He shivered, what terrible world had he woken to this time?

After what seemed like days, the scene in front of him changed. A free moving figure appeared. This figure, shadowed and tall, looked around. It yelled and another figure appeared, this one smaller with the tall head of a fish. The first figure waved it's hand, indicating the boxes, yelling so that it's words nearly deafened Daggeron. "You idiot! You stupid fat fish! I told you to arrange them by team!"

The fish creature groveled, his voice was not loud but still able to penetrate his box, dry washing its hands, "I am sorry Mistress, I had thought you wanted them to be arranged by color."

"No, by team! Why are you so stupid?"

The fish stepped forward, "Mistress, what has happened to you?" He reached out, "You used to be so kind…"

The girl pulled back, "Don't touch me!" She snarled, "Arrange them by teams, Fishton, or you'll end up just like Doglee and Birdwell." She glared at him one last time then stormed out of the room.

Fishton watched her go, Daggeron saw the blurry figure press its strange looking hands to its strange looking head. He heard the sound of sobbing.

At the unbelievable amount of pain in the sound, Daggeron again tried to break free of his bonds but again whatever held him was too strong. He stopped struggling and watched.

The sobbing continued for just over a minute then Fishton straightened and wiped a strange looking hand across his face. He moved slowly, with patience and forethought, clambering up on the tables when boxes were too high for him to reach. Shelf by shelf, he moved around the room, taking each box down and setting it on a table. Eventually he came to Daggeron.

Now that he was close, Daggeron could see large oval eyes staring at him sadly. Daggeron was only partially surprised to find that Fishton, had a full fish face and flippers for hands. "She used to be so kind," the fish said, talking to himself. His voice was deep and had an odd gurgly sound. He was also wearing a bright red sweater vest, his multi-colored scaled arms sticking out the sides. "Happy, young, bright." He sighed, "I remember thinking, this girl would never hurt a fly. Not one fly. Never."

Sensing no ill intent in the creature holding his cage, Daggeron took a risk, "What went wrong?"

Fishton dropped his box, giving Daggeron a horrible case of whiplash. Gingerly, Fishton picked him back up, "Did you, did you just say something?"

"Yes."

Quickly he turned Daggeron's box around and Daggeron felt the bonds loosen. When they had been freed, he dropped to the plastic screen on the front and then fell out the back of the box when Fishton turned it back over.

Carefully, Fishton caught him and set him on the table. The large eyes examined him then looked at the other boxes. A soft sigh escaped his gaping mouth. "She has gone too far this time…"

Even though his mind felt clearer than it had in years, Daggeron still had trouble moving his hands, arms, legs and feet. The best he could do was stand stiffly with his arms outstretched. He glared up at the giant fish face, "You will tell me what is going on! You will tell me why I have been imprisoned in this way."

Sighing, the red sweater vest wearing fish motioned for him to be quiet then waddled slowly over and shut the door.

Daggeron got a better look at the boxes during the process. Over a hundred figures as trapped as he had been but they weren't moving and when he looked closely, he saw that their eyes were shut. They were asleep like he had been. He recognized one of the other Mystic Rangers trapped in a box on one of the tables. "No!" He leapt from Fishton's hand and forced his way through the boxes, past bright reds and yellows. "Nick." The Red Mystic Ranger was trapped like he had been but he seemed as asleep as the rest of the figures. His struggle back to the box had loosened his limbs and now that his arms were working correctly, Daggeron felt his anger grow. He tore at the box with all his strength but wasn't able to even dent the plastic window. He turned to Fishton, pointing at his friend, "Get him out of there!"

Instead of doing as he asked, Fishton picked him up. Easily holding him no matter how hard he struggled. "No. She may not miss one but two, especially from the same team, she _will_ notice."

Daggeron turned, glaring, "You will release him." He spotted the Yellow Mystic Ranger…Chip…. in a box not far away. His mood darkened, "You will release Chip. You will release _all_ of these poor creatures."

Fishton laughed, which sounded like water rushing past rapids more than laughter, "You simply do not understand, do you?"

"No, I do not. Who is this child who dares to keep living creatures in such conditions?"

Fishton's face fell, "She told me you were dolls. I thought it was just something to distract her, take her back to nicer times. She was such a sweet girl once. But her moods have darkened of late."

Daggeron stopped struggling and Fishton opened his hand. Daggeron stood on his fin, "You cannot leave us here." He glared upwards, putting the full power of the sun behind it, "If you won't do something, _I will_."

Fishton chuckled and again Daggeron was reminded of babbling brooks, "Oh I will do something, I am just wondering how she will react." He looked at the box in his hand holding the Red Mystic Ranger and his frown deepened, "Living creatures should not be treated this way. But with the terrible changes in my Mistress, I am not sure if I can do it alone."

Daggeron pondered that, "You said that she would notice two missing if they were from the same team?"

Fishton nodded, "Yes but if too many are missing, she will notice anyways."

"What did you mean by team?"

"Well," Fishton tried to explain, "all of these here, in these boxes, are Power Rangers, just like this kid in red here. And the Mistress wants them grouped by which team they are from. You and the red on are from a team I believe is called Mystic Force."

"Other Power Rangers? Well I had heard rumors…" Daggeron pointed to a few of the boxes whose occupants didn't have colored occupants, "What about those?" He noticed some of these were hideous monsters, "And _those_?"

"They are mentors to the Rangers, kind of like you I suppose. And the others, they are evil and vile. I don't understand why my Mistress wanted them."

"Would this girl notice if some of them were missing?"

"I suppose she wouldn't miss too many. Maybe two or three."

* * *

"Ok, show me this machine!" Fishton had selected two additional 'mentors', to help them figure out a way to free the other Rangers and Hayley, who helped Dr. O build most of their gear, was one of them. She was a good choice and she knew it. If there was a machine, she could get it to work.

Angela Fairweather, the other 'mentor' Fishton freed was standing nearby, nervously watching the cracked open door. "Is she gone yet Fishton?"

Fishton shut the door, "She's about to leave. We'll wait another few minutes." He looked back at the room, the boxes now neatly arranged on the shelves, by teams. "Thank you for your assistance, I doubt I would have finished without it."

"How long will she be gone," Daggeron asked. "How long will we have?"

"She's usually gone for around an hour. Although sometimes it is days before I see her again." Fishton paused, hearing a loud pop from outside the door. "She's gone." He opened the door and led them through.

The room was white, almost blindingly so. In the center was a ring of four ovals, stretching from ceiling to floor. A thick black wire stretched from the sides of the ovals to a strange looking console in the corner of the room. But it what was below the console that drew their attention.

They could only see it because of the bright light of the room. In a small glass container, sitting just between what seemed to be the keyboard and the floor, was a black hole. It was a tiny one when compared to most black holes that had been discovered in the universe but it was a black hole none the less. "That is her power source," Fishton explained, walking across the room. "That's not really the black hole, it's just a gateway to its location in space. It used to be a sun, you know. Her power source. She said it was the brightest sun in the universe, she called it Callé, after her mother. Then, one day, the sun was swallowed by this black hole. My Mistress cried for weeks, she said it was like losing her mother all over again." Fishton slapped the glass with an angry hand, "After that she started to become… cold."

Hayley, who was already examining the wording on the machine, interrupted, "That's all fascinating but what exactly does this machine do? Is it a portal machine, a materializer, does it make candy?"

"To the best of my knowledge it's like a teleportation machine. It takes things from one place and puts them in another. The Mistress tried to explain it to me back when there were three of us alive, but it went over our heads." He gestured at the ovals, "I know that these things keep the, how did she word it, energy in balance with the fluctuating, unstable lifestream. Whatever a lifestream is."

Angela nodded, "That makes sense."

Daggeron shrugged, "I'm glad it does to somebody."

Hayley motioned to Angela, not taking her eyes off the complicated looking controls, "Come look at this. I think I've figured out how to turn it on but I'd like a second opinion." Angela clambered up to the console and the pair began to talk in the language of technical jargon.

Daggeron tuned them out, deciding to dig for more information while the two geniuses were working. He walked in front of Fishton, crossing his arms, "Who is this girl Fishton? How can she have such a marvelous machine? Where did she go?"

Fishton shook his head, "My Mistress may have done a terrible thing in turning you into this but her business is none of your business."

Daggeron scowled, "I believe that it is."

"Well it is _not._" Fishton walked around the console and tried to help the other two but only ended up getting in the way and was forced away again.

* * *

After a few minutes of awkward silence between Daggeron and Fishton, the women finished examining the machine. Hayley pressed a series of buttons and the machine started to hum. "There we go," she said with a smile. "Not that hard to work out."

Energy crackled between the rings and shadowy beams filled the bright space. They writhed and twisted, like they were alive and fighting to get free. Hayley tapped another button and the shadows straightened, reaching from the top of the ring to the floor. "Well, Angela, what do you think of that?"

Angela looked from the power source to the rings and back again, eyebrows high in surprise, "I think we should shut it down. Now, would be good."

Daggeron, who was standing closest to the rings, looked back at her and asked why. A shadow lashed towards him. Fishton tried to reach down and scoop the small figure away but the shadow was faster. It's tip wrapped around Daggeron, lifting him high into the air. It tried to bring him into the rings but as Daggeron reached the boundary, he began to glow. The brightness of the room seemed to dim from the light now coming from Daggeron. The shadow dropped him and he tumbled to the floor.

Hayley quickly pushed another series of buttons and the shadows vanished as did Daggeron's light.

Fishton quickly picked Daggeron up, "Are you alright?"

To his shock, Daggeron started laughing and when he asked why, Daggeron replied, "I'm the _Solar Knight_ and those stupid shadows tried to take on _me_!" He continued laughing, "If that's the best this Mistress of yours can come up with, we'll be fine just by me thinking bright thoughts!"

Smiling a little, Fishton walked over to the console, "I think I'm beginning to like you little guys." His smile weakened, "But don't underestimate my Mistress or you'll end up like the rest of your friends, lifeless and frozen. Of course if she finds out I'm helping you, I won't get even that much."

Angela looked up to see if Fishton had changed his mind about helping them but even though he was talking about what could be his own death, his old eyes stared back down at her, full of gentle kindness. Angela felt guilt rise up and looked away.

* * *

Fishton's mysterious mistress returned a few hours later but the three plastic people were already back in their boxes, pretending to still be asleep. Hayley heard raised voices coming from beyond the door and hoped that Fishton hadn't already been found out. She glared at the doorway, there was something more going on here. They had been kidnapped for a reason, it wasn't just random. And she was sure Fishton knew what it was.

The voices began to move towards the door and Hayley stopped moving entirely. But as the door began to open, this suddenly became a difficult thing since her nose had begun to itch. The intense need to scratch her nose vanished as she understood that all Fishton's talk about not recognizing his Mistress hadn't been pointless prattle. There was a figure with Fishton, but it was so shadowy and dark, it stood out so much against the bright room behind them that it was difficult to tell if it was actually a person.

The figure, whom Hayley decided to start calling the Shady, a portmanteau of shadow and lady, walked, or glided at least, down the rows of boxes. It seemed pleased and turned back to Fishton who was continuously dry washing his hands. "Wow Fishton, you actually did it! I'm impressed!" She glided forward a little, "I know that you aren't very intelligent and I was worried that this task was too complicated for you. I guess I was wrong!" Her shadow arm reached up and patted Fishton on the head, "See ya!" She waved goodbye cheerfully, closing the door behind him.

Hayley was shocked to see that Fishton was shaking. Was he angry, she wondered, not being able to really see him. He reached out a hand and collapsed against the door, still shaking although now she could hear his sobbing. He was sad, crying. Halely was reminded of the few times one of the Dino Rangers had come to her for help. She didn't think she was great at it but she had experience. "Fishton?" She had to repeat herself twice, yelling at the top of her lungs, to be heard.

Fishton looked up at her, fish eyes red, "She used to call me Fishy Face and laugh at the strange way I talked. I watched her grow up. She was like a daughter to me… How could this have happened?"

Hayley's heart melted but she knew what was going on. She remembered Kira running to her when Trent was revealed to be the evil White Ranger. Kira was not the type of girl to cry her feelings out, and she hadn't, but it had been a deep conversation. Kira had asked what to do when Trent was back to normal, what she should do, and Hayley now gave Fishton the same advice she had given Kira then. "Fishton," she said, still yelling to be heard through the plastic, "sometimes the people we love do stupid things. They may not even realize that they're doing it. But you love them anyways."

Fishton nodded.

"Then try everything you can to get her on the right track again," Hayley pressed, "and when you run out of ways, find some more. And, after it's all over, forgive them. Forgive yourself. Let the past be that, the past."

"Hey, Fish Face," a feminine voice called from the other side of the door. Her voice had changed, it was no longer cheerful but hateful. "Come here!"

Fishton sighed and put Hayley back in her box. Hayley smiled at him, trying to bolster his spirits, but Fishton didn't see.

* * *

In the following weeks that slowly turned into months, Fishtons mistress would disappear every few days but she never left for long, only an hour at a time. She never told Fishton where she was going and when he asked, she just laughed.

She never went near the room where the action figures were stored.

Hayley and Angela had figured out enough of how the machine worked that they were able to send them through the beam of dark shadows to the one of the locations that had been preset into the machine. But they could only do it while Fishton's mistress was gone which often sporadic.

So over that time, Hayley, Daggeron and Angela helped Fishton move their friends. Fishton was the only one large enough to carry them and he had to leave the boxes behind. After surveying the seemingly endless rows of frozen figures, Hayley instructed Fishton to send the teams of Power Rangers through first.

"If anyone can get us out of this situation," she said, "it's them." Lost Galaxy, that legendary team of galactic explorers, was sent through first. They were used to exploring new environments and could take care of themselves. And, from her time helping Tommy, she knew for the most part which of the mentors would be able to help them and had them sent through too. Zordon, the celebrated wizard she'd always heard Tommy talk about, she sent through near the very beginning. The teams she or Angela knew little about were sent through randomly and with few extra people. On a whim, she also had Fishton add Bulk and Skull, the bumbling duo that Tommy loved to joke about. She was sure to get some grief about it but just imagining the look on his face once he saw them again would be completely worth it.

The villains were another story. Hayley and Angela were all for leaving them to rot in the boxes but Daggeron was against it.

"Balance," he said. "There must always be balance. Who knows, maybe one of them will have an idea that saves us all." Hayley and Angela didn't like the idea but they began to send the villains through too, although in no particular grouping or order.

The original Power Rangers team became a source of contention between Angela and Hayley. Angela wanted to send them through right after the Lost Galaxy team. They had more experience battling the unknown than most other teams who learned a lot from watching their predecessors. But, rather selfishly, Hayley wanted them to go through last. If something happened to the original Tommy, the Green Tommy since she'd noticed there was a version for each time he'd been a Ranger, she would never get to meet hers. She couldn't fathom how different her life would be if she'd never met him. And she didn't really want to. So, after a rather lengthy fight, they were put near the end of the line. Only a few figures were left after them, some minor villains and a few key allies. But they wouldn't get left behind, no one would. Fishton had already decided to stay behind so he would add those few remaining in with Hayley, Angela and Daggeron who would be going dead last.

Hayley and Angela were joking on the main console, trying to hide their apprehension and tension. Daggeron was poking at the glass holding the source of power for the machine. Fishton stood with his handful of multi-colored action figures, the Mighty Morphin team and their two main villains who had been left nearly last on accident, ready to throw them in at Hayley's word.

Hayley pressed another button and the lights on the consol turned green. "All right Fishton," she said with a smile, "toss them in when the beams finish forming."

The last dark column finished filling the space between the rings, Fishton reached out when the lights in the room flickered. A door on the far side flung open and Shady stood framed in it.

For a brief seconds, the two groups stared at each other. He held up his hands, still holding their precious cargo, "Mistress…this needs to stop." He stopped as she raised her hand too.

"Stow it Fish Face," she said, her voice laced with fury. With a gesture, Fisthton flew across the room, slamming mercilessly into the far wall. "I've had enough of you ordering me around." She walked calmly towards the console. With another wave of her hand, the teleporting beams vanished.

Daggeron sprang towards the shadow, summoning his light again. But the closer he got, the dimmer his light became. By the time he reached the striding shadow, he was gasping for air and struggling to keep moving forward.

The Shady kicked him aside without effort.

Hayley and Angela were pounding away at the keys. The shadows sprang up between the columns again. "Quickly Fishton," Angela yelled, continuing to press the oversized keys.

Fishton threw the small figures with all his might. They collided with the beam and vanished. Hayley clicked a few more keys. "Aaand there go the coordinates," she said smugly, "Good luck finding them again."

The Shady stopped moving towards the console. Her eyes bored holes in her fish servant, "That is the _last_ time you'll defy me, _Fish Face_."

"….and now the game will have to change," a strange, silky voice said, each syllable telling their every instinct to flee as fast as they could. Flee now while they could still scream.

They held their ground with every ounce of bravery and will they had, looking around for the source of such a terrible sound.

"But," the Shady said to the empty air, her voice shaking, "if they are awake, they can stop us! We must destroy them!" She started towards the console again, "It won't even be that hard. We'll just destroy whatever universe they're in, that way there's no escape."

"No," the bodyless voice boomed. Pieces of the white ceiling fell at the force of the sound. "No. If you have taken the precautions I suggested, nothing will go wrong." The voice paused, "You took pieces of their gear and stored them elsewhere?"

The Shady nodded, she started to speak but the dark voice overrode her.

"Then all is well. Do not worry, their time will be up soon."

"But what will we do about the rest of them? I doubt the fish," she jabbed her thumb at Fishton, who winced, "woke these three up, he doesn't have the brains to figure out they're not just action figures. One of them broke through you're little spell."

The voice was silent, considering. "The one who employs the power of the sun," the voice said finally. "He is the only one who could have done so. I should have foreseen it and taken precautions."

Daggeron couldn't help but smile a little, his light was good at doing things like that.

"Yeah," Shady continued, "but what do we do about them? Stick them back in the boxes?"

"No, the sun would break my spell again." The voice paused again. "Their worlds and times have fallen apart by now, correct? Bits and pieces drifting around the ether?"

"I'll check," Shady said, moving to the console again. "Move," she swiped her hand across the console, throwing Hayley and Angela across the room. They hit the floor hard.

Incised, Daggeron again charged the shadowy form, pulling the light from the light of the room itself. He ducked under the black hole powering the device, planning on at least tripping Shady, but was brutally thrown away by some unseen force.

Shady paused as Daggeron flew through the air but shrugged as he hit the floor. He landed near Hayley and Angela and didn't move.

Fishton scrambled over to them. He gently picked them up and held them close. He whispered an apology for his mistresses actions.

"It appears some of the worlds have actually collided," Shady said, sounding surprised. "They somehow slipped through their time streams and landed on the remains of the Mighty Morphin plain. Not much left actually. Only the main structures that came in contact with the Power Rangers the most survived the transition." A light on the console changed, her eyes widened, "There're people there! Alive, moving people! How did they survive?"

"And the other times and worlds? Where are they?"

Shady pressed a few keys, "They're just floating out there, not doing much. A few survivors on them as well."

"How about we help them find each other," the voice suggested. "We wouldn't want them to miss out on all the fun."

Shady nodded, pressing a few more keys.

"Are there any of those little dolls left," the voice asked pleasantly after Shady finished towing the little bubbles of time towards a massive collision, as if the survival of citizens wasn't exactly the opposite of what he had planned. "Anyone who has a background in following orders? Who can be trusted to keep people in line?"

Shady walked across the room, ignoring her servant for the time being. She peeked in the open door. "They got most of them. They even took the villains, don't know why." She disappeared into the other room.

Fishton heard the sounds of boxes being thrown to the floor. Some of the ones that weren't empty, hit with a louder thud. He winced, imagining the damage this thoughtless action could do to their inhabitants.

Shady returning with a single box with an occupant wearing a white suit. She smiled, "But they left one of my favorites."

The voice chuckled, a sound that made the circular columns twist and writhe, "Get rid of the fish, then, and I'll let you in on my new plan..."

Shady frowned, looking over at Fishton. His hope surfaced briefly when her eyes softened but it vanished again when the wide smile followed, "Hey, M, how do you like your fish?"

The voice hissed, "Frrrrrrreeeeeeeesssssssshhhh."

* * *

*AN*

So I've had this chapter waiting in the wings for awhile, I just couldn't think of the perfect time to add it in. Then I remembered that we've never actually met our bad guys and I thought, hey, it's a milestone chapter, the big Three Oh, why not now? It works out even better since we just last chapter found out what happened to some of our forgotten heroes. And yes, this chapter is almost twice as long as a normal chapter. Like I said, I've been chipping away at it for awhile but I like how well it fits together with everything.

Also, if don't remember what happens to Fishton, check back in chapter 17, around the halfway point. Poor guy.

Thanks again guys, it's been an absolute _blast_ writing this for you!

*CL*

Daggeron – Solaris Knight – Mystic Force

Hayley – Ran the CyberSpace Café – Helped Tommy build most of their equipment – Dino Thunder

Angela – designed most of the Lightspeed Rescue Weapons – Lightspeed Rescue

Shady – Mysterious woman who kidnapped all the Power Rangers from their times and turned them into plastic action figures

Fishton – Shady's Fish themed servant – Poor guy

'The Voice' – Mysterious voice that seems to give Shady 'suggestions'. Creepy sounding.


	31. Chapter 31: Theme Park Madness

Chapter 31 – Theme Park Madness

Hello Fillies and Gentlecolts! TweetybirdAlpha here, just thought I'd pop in to say hi before changing a few things. This is the THIRTY(first) chapter of Not Just Action Figures, I didn't think it'd go this long but it did! Yay! And so, as a treat to you and me, but mostly to break the tension because that last chapter was kinda dark and _really_ backstory heavy, I'm taking all the characters out of their respective times and places and throwing them into something different. Different-er. Something funner.

*cue thunder and lightning*

Also, since this chapter will include a lot of different Rangers at the same time, feel free to use the Character List at the bottom to help remind you who's who but remember it's by approximate order of appearance not by team.

*re-cue thunder and lightning*

* * *

Kimberly and Tommy stood outside the gates, unsure whether or not they could continue. "I don't know Tommy," I don't think we can do this," Kim said, staring at the crows milling in front of them with apprehension. Tall, bright signs displayed the name of the park in big, multi-colored letters. Little kids demanded to know why they couldn't go in yet. "It just too weird."

Zack stepped up next to them, grinning. "Don't say that Kim, we've faced tougher challenges than this." He turned to _other_ the large crowd, the one standing behind them, and spread his arms wide. "Can we do this," he yelled cheerfully.

The Power Rangers cheered, shouting different affirmatives but mostly smiling and enjoying the chance to be loud.

Zack turned back with a larger grin, "See."

The Powerful World of the Power Rangers was a brand new theme park built in the middle of the empty plains of the Moon in the year 2050. Built to celebrate the past sixty years of Power Rangers protection, it was the perfect place for the Rangers to relax. Or so someone had decided. One second they'd been standing in their respective places, most under some kind of stress, then the next, poof, here outside a theme park dedicated to them. Everyone thought it odd but most decided not to worry about it.

Almost everyone.

* * *

"I still don't understand how we're all here," Andros said. "One minute, we're in Arthur's room, the next, standing in front of a theme park dedicated to us. US! It's suspicious."

"Oh, you're analyzing it too much brother," Karone said with a smile. "Maybe the universe decided we should have some fun for once. It's been a long, hard few months."

"You're telling me," Trevor muttered.

"Who're you again," Andros asked, still suspicious. "I don't think I've seen you before."

Trevor stuttered, "I'm, umm…" Trent walked past them and Trevor quickly ducked his head, pretending like he was scratching it. Trent noticed the motion and stared at him for a second, then shrugged and walked away.

Karone looked between the two, understanding. "Evil twin," she asked.

Trevor smiled shyly, "Yeah…"

Karone shrugged, "Hey, I've got one of those too. No worries."

* * *

There was still another ten minutes before the park opened so most of the Rangers were just standing around, talking. A few had even gone and bought cheap plastic Ranger masks and were wearing them, to the general amusement of their friends.

Ziggy struck a very heroic pose, "I, the Mighty Morphing Black Ranger, am a terrible dancer!" He started break dancing, badly.

Zack balked, "I swear, if they'd had an RPM mask, I'd get my revenge!"

Ziggy grinned, "Well they don't, 'cause we haven't happened yet."

Dillon walked up, putting his hand around his team mates shoulder, "Don't be offended by his dancing Zack. He's not making fun of you, that's _actually_ how he dances."

Ziggy stared up at his team mate, "Dillon!"

Dillon just shrugged, "It's true. You're really bad at dancing."

"I am not," Ziggy protested. "I'm an amazing dancer!"

Merrick walked by, "Ziggy, you're a terrible dancer." He continued walking past, not stopping to listen to see Ziggy's insulted face. But when the curly headed RPM Ranger called him a wolf-eared weirdo, he had to smile.

* * *

The tall, bright gates opened to a loud fanfair. The Mighty Morphin Rangers grinned as they recognized their theme song.

"How do they even have that," Andros asked loudly. "That was only in Arthur's world, not ours!"

Karone nudged him hard in the ribs, "Just go with it."

The Rangers all lined up together as they got up to the ticket counter. The employee, wearing a very cheap looking copy of an SPD uniform, smiled up at Wes, "How many?"

Wes started laughing. Then he turned around and started counting heads. It took a few minutes to do but eventually he came up with a number. "One hundred and twenty six. I think. Better give me one thirty five just to be safe."

The ticket seller stared at him. He managed to squeak out a question, "Debit or credit?"

Wes pulled out his father's gold colored credit card, which he hoped was still good, "Credit."

* * *

Soon after entering the gates, the Rangers split up again to pursue their various interests. Those that enjoyed high speed roller coasters headed straight for the 'Attack of the Mega Winger', the fastest roller coaster in the park.

A few who decided that wasn't for them, took one of the a slower rides first.

Those whose tastes excluded all things ridey this early in the morning, decided to go shopping. Or catch one of the two stunt shows. Anything but those big, scary rides.

* * *

The 'Attack of the Mega Winger' was a dueling roller coaster with seven consecutive loopty loops and barrel rolls where two tracks wove in and out of one another in a mock battle. The cart on one side of the coaster was shaped like the Mega Winger, while the other was a Velocifighter. Zhane found this hilarious and insisted that they ride it at least twice. Although he refused to ride on the Velocifighter side, standing even longer in line solely to ride in the cart based on his zord. None of the other Rangers could fault him.

On their _third_ ride through, after listening to Zhane brag about how awesome _his_ ride was, Dax decided to get some revenge. Just as they were reaching the top of the first hill, Dax was able to toss a well placed water balloon across the divide between the two tracks and right onto Zhane's face. Dax spent the rest of the ride, laughing so much he had to have help getting out. Over the course of the ride, Zhane had dried out, leaving no evidence of the offense. Of course, some of the other riders who had been sitting behind Zhane complained and so Dax had to quickly escape from a very angry security guard.

Zhane watched them go, he'd been ready to tear the Blue Overdrive Ranger to pieces but seeing the panicked look on Dax's face as he fled, only made him chuckle. He'd get him back later.

* * *

'The Mystic Battle' was a dark ride through the 'creepy' Briarwood forest to stop the evil Octomus and save the world. It featured terrible effects and jerky animatronics Rangers spouting cheesy lines at the even worse robotic duplicates of their enemies.

The Mystic Rangers were just glad they got their capes right.

"You know, a lot of people diss the cape," Chip explained to the kid sitting next to him. "But it's an essential part of the costume."

The little boy looked up at him with annoyance, "Are you finished?"

Chip didn't seem to notice his ride partners inattention. He continued, "And really, I think the capes are intimidating. They make the monsters step back for a second and think, hey, that guys wearing a cape, I should be careful."

The little boy pressed his head into his hands. He wondered how long until the ride was over.

Over the course of the ride, the 'Rangers' fought various hilariously crafted 'monsters' until they 'defeated' them. Of course, the 'monsters' then 'grew' larger. What passed for their zords were plastic mock ups that moved under the power of the many, obvious, strings pulling on them. The battle ended as they all did, with the monster exploding with a giant flash of light and the Rangers standing atop their Titan Megazord and waving. The ride ended with a fun flyover scene that took the carts, decorated in the bright colors of the different Rangers and thus completely ruining the darkness of the ride, over a surprisingly well done model of Briarwood. Just before the ride pulled through the final doors, however, Octomus's giant face appeared directly above them, laughing deeply and swearing to get them next time as he could _never_ be defeated.

The Mystic Rangers were a little unnerved.

As they immerged into the sunlight again, the poor kid who had sat next to Chip leapt from the car and scrambled away. Chip scratched his head in confusion, "What'd I say?"

* * *

"Shopping," Trini sighed happily, "There's nothing like it." She picked up a small doll that looked vaguely like her in her Ranger suit, "You know, I don't really think these are cute anymore."

Kira shivered, holding a small plastic Yellow Dino Ranger, "I know what you mean. Now that we've been in their shoes, it's creepy." She blinked, "Although its worse if you start wondering how we're wearing these exact uniforms one second, then the next, I'm wearing my favorite shirt and shorts."

Zeo Tanya walked by, distracted by a beach towel with her team's logo on it, "Aaaand that's why we're not thinking about it."

Kira shrugged and put the action figure back on the shelf, "Good plan." She walked over to the large wall of Power Ranger masks. She grinned as she found hers, "I think I'll take that."

* * *

The Power Ranger Power Show promised a spectacular stunt show. Set in the Mighty Morphin era, it detailed the fight against the evil sorceress Rita Repulsa. Supposedly.

Kimberly sat on the stone bleachers with Green Tommy waiting for the Power Show to start. Looking through the small brochure they'd picked up at the entrance, they were having a blast imagining what terrible special effects would be used to start the show. Kimberly was leaning towards people leaping off the platforms she were hiding near the top of the stage. It was a Power Rangers show, she reasoned, there had to be aerobatics.

Tommy was expecting explosions. Big, multicolored explosions. "Come on," he said with a laugh. "It's gotta be an explosion. Pretty much everything we touch explodes!"

"Not everything," Kimberly replied, taking a bite out of her pink cotton candy. "Sometimes they just disintegrate."

"Yeah, _after_ they explode."

As if fate's one job was to prove him right, the show started then. With an explosion.

After enduring Tommy's triumphant laugh Kimberly shook her head and leaned on Tommy's shoulder, shutting him up. But when the first actress appeared on stage, they both burst out laughing.

* * *

Fireworks exploded out of the middle of the stage, bright and loud. An actress wearing some kind of long black dress rose out of the stage.

"Who's she," Red Jason asked Zeo Rocky, yelling to be heard over the noise.

Zeo Rocky shrugged, "I have no idea."

The actress started waving her hands, fireworks hidden at the front of the stage went off, partially obscuring the stage. "I am the Evil Sorceress Rita Repulsa." Some of the kids in the audience booed.

"That's supposed to be Rita," Jason exclaimed. "She can't be Rita, she's…."

"Kinda hot," Zeo Adam supplied with a grimace.

"…yeah! And her costume's all wrong…"

"You should know," Turbo T.J. snickered. "From what I hear, you and Rita got real close when you first woke up."

Jason blushed, his face matching his dark red shirt. "Who told you that?"

"Shhh…," Justin hissed. "This is really funny!"

During their conversation, Rita had been joined on stage by five 'teenagers', who obviously were too old to be called that. The five 'teens' were already wearing what would become their Ranger colors and were standing with arms outstretched in front of Rita, blocking her way forward to a paper-mache representation of the Earth.

"We won't let you do this," the one wearing red practically screamed, his face a hilarious mix of fake determination and boredom. "You're evil stops here!"

'Rita' cackled, "Oh, please. You're just five teenagers with attitude. What can you do to stop me?"

The red one stepped forward, "It's Morphin Time!"

Fireworks exploded around the teens. When they cleared, five Mighty Morphin Power Rangers stood in various heroic poses. Kind of.

Jason stared in shock, "They…they got our suits wrong!" He said this a little too loudly, causing some of the kids who didn't have their fingers in their ears to look back at them in confusion. Jason didn't notice, "I mean, they got our masks right. I even saw some people walking around in our suits but those are not our suits!"

Justin started laughing, "Those are the In Space suits!" His laughter alerted the other Rangers in the row that there was something wrong. It didn't take them long to catch it and soon all the Rangers in the auditorium had caught on and were laughing too. The normal people in the audience gave them weird looks.

Blue T.J., leaned around his Red counterpart, enjoying the look on Jason's face more than the multiple explosions on the stage representing the 'battle' between Rita and the Rangers. "Sorry Jason, I guess they just thought our uniforms looked cooler."

"But how could they get that wrong," Jason repeated, not really listening to T.J. "Your era wasn't that long ago according to that calendar on the front gates. Surely they haven't forgotten what your team looks like that quickly."

Blue T.J. stopped laughing. He frowned down at the actors on the stage, now as offended as Jason, "Hey!"

* * *

At the center of the park, the thing that could be called the 'face' of the park, was a full sized replica of the Galaxy MegaZord. The Lost Galaxy Rangers stared up at it in excitement. It looked perfect. Every bolt, every shade of color, was dead on. After seeing how some of the other teams were being 'honored', they couldn't believe how lucky they were.

"Apparently," Maya said with a grin, "you can go inside it. There's this platform at the top where you can get your pictures taken standing at the controls. We should so do that."

"Wouldn't that be a bad idea," Leo asked. "What if they have pictures of us? We didn't exactly have super secret identities like most of the other Rangers."

"Oh come on," Kendrix teased. "We're a team of Power Rangers at a Power Rangers theme park way into our own future, anyone who notices will just think we're actors who look eerily similar. They wouldn't think we were the real team, that would just be stupid!" She tugged Damon's arm, "Come on!"

They got in the back of the long line which stretched out of the Galaxy MegaZord and wrapped around it. Twice.

* * *

"This is so cool," Hunter said as they walked through the doors. "I know other teams have rides and stuff, but we have an entire restaurant!"

Tori eyed the 'ninja' themed decorations, "I think it was just an excuse to have a ninja themed restaurant. It's not really themed after us." She pointed to the far wall where a scroll work painting of the five Ninja Rangers hung, "I could be wrong though."

"What about me," Cam asked. "What about the Samurai?"

Blake shrugged, "Tough luck Cam, looks like the Green Samurai Ranger wasn't included. Sorry."

Cam's shoulders slumped, "Seriously? I don't even exist?"

Shane noticed a suit of armor sitting beside the check in podium, "Hey, isn't that a samurai armor?"

Cam brightened, "It is! Thank goodness, I was really starting to think I'd been completely forgotten." He frowned, "It's not green…"

"Hey, do you guys want to go ahead and eat lunch," Tori asked loudly to distract Cam from becoming too upset, "I know we were supposed to meet the others at the main cafeteria but I can't think of a better place to eat."

"Sounds good to me," Dustin agreed quickly, looking around for a open table in the crowded restaurant.

"Me too. I wonder if they have sushi," Hunter asked.

* * *

The Rangers met together for lunch, exchanging stories and frustrations. Jason and Blue T.J. went on a twenty minute rant where they detailed everything that was wrong with the Power Show. They did admit that the effects were decent enough. Their furious commotion made those who hadn't seen it, make plans to. It couldn't be that bad. Or if it was, they wanted to join in the fun.

Dax ate lunch, crouching beside a table. Apparently the security guard was still on the lookout for him and even came in the cafeteria looking for him. But Dax's team mates simultaneously moved to block his view. Dax sighed with relief then started giggling, "I swear, I haven't had this much fun in ages."

Rose rolled her eyes.

Conner and Ethan were explaining to a very disinterested Kira and Trent just how cool the video game room was.

"We have our own arcade game," Conner said with enthusiasm. "But it's really hard. We haven't gotten past the fifth level yet."

Kira sighed, "Why don't you guys do something else for a change? I hear that roller coaster's fun."

"As long as you don't ride with Dax," Trent said, gesturing to the ducking Blue Overdrive Ranger at the table next to theirs. "Apparently he's got good aim with water balloons."

"Nah," Ethan said, "I'd rather try to beat our game. I mean, when are we going to have another chance to do that?"

"Whatever," Kira said. "Just don't get sucked into it this time, all right?"

Ethan glowered, "That was _one_ time."

They all stopped talking as a large bowl of ice cream flew over their heads, landing squarely on Dax's head.

Dax, thinking this was just the beginnings of an attack, bolted through the doors of the cafeteria.

The Dino Rangers glanced to their right to see Zhane and Andros high fiving in celebration.

Kira rolled her eyes, "_Guys._"

Casey, Lily and Theo were regretting their last choice of rides The ride themed after their era, the 'Savage Spin', had seemed like a fun ride at the time. It was just a spinning ride, how bad could it be. As they sat there with the world still spinning around them, they understood just how bad it could be. They were all feeling incredibly nauseous and they hadn't seen R.J. since he sprinted off to the bathroom after getting off the ride.

"I hope he's ok," Casey said, holding onto her chair with both hands, holding on in case the ride started again. "I've never seen him look so queasy."

"Don't talk about it," Theo complained, his head in his hands, eyes shut, "that just makes it worse!"

"Don't talk about worse," Lily added, "That just makes it spin more!"

"How about we don't talk at all," R.J. said plopping into an empty chair at their table, still looking green. "Let's just sit here and wait for the world to stop trying out ballet moves."

"Good plan," Casey agreed as the world did another pirouette. "Silence and solid ground."

* * *

After lunch, the teams split up again. Those who had spent the morning on intense thrill rides, tried some of the slower ones. After making that sure Dax was nowhere near them in the lines, of course.

* * *

Bulk and Skull were a bit upset that there was nothing in the Power Rangers Museum of Power about them.

"We helped out lots of times," Bulk whispered to Skull as they walked through the exhibits for third time. They had already passed through the Mighty Morphin, Zeo and Turbo ones and were sulking around the In Space area. They seemed particularly insulted by this team. "We even saved those Space Rangers _lives_! They would'a been killed without us!"

"Yeah," Skull agreed, glaring especially hard at the In Space Rangers as they passed their exhibit. He noticed something. "Hey!" He scurried over to the wall and peered closely at a small picture next to the large one of the In Space Rangers. He pointed joyfully, "That's us! That's us! "

Bulk shushed him, looking around to see if anyone heard. They were the only ones nearby. "You moron, we just became Power Rangers, do you want to give our secret identities already?" Bulk joined him, "Hey, it is us."

The picture, a small poleroid showed the maskless In Space Rangers with their arms around a grinning Bulk and Skull. They had signed it with their real names and written on the white space below the photograph, 'Heroes.' There was a small article next to the picture explaining who the two non-Rangers in the picture were. How Farkus "Bulk" Bulkmeier and Eugene "Skull" Skullovitch had leapt in to save the Rangers in their time of need. It went on to say what they did with the rest of their lives, but Bulk stopped reading. He didn't to know.

He stared at the picture, feeling pride and something approaching joy well up.

Skull stared at Bulk, "Dude, are you crying?"

Bulk wiped his hand across his face, "No! Stop asking me that!" This was the second time in so many weeks the Rangers had gotten him to the point of 'definitely not crying.' They had to stop doing that! "Come on," he said roughly, "Let's go ride a ride or something."

* * *

"Oh, my…"

"They can't be serious."

Will didn't say anything, he just pressed his face in his hands in dismay.

"Have any of the other teams seen this," Mack whispered desperately. "Maybe we can still destroy it before they see it!"

Tyzonn shook his head, "I saw Chad and Maya walking past here a few minutes ago. They were cracking up. I now think I know why."

The Operation Overdrive Treasure Exploration Zone was a very large, open, sandbox. The sign beside it detailed how there were amazing treasures hiding under the piles of sand and that you, like the Overdrive Rangers, could find them! It included a cheesy picture of the Overdrive Rangers holding shovels and pails.

Mack wanted to take that sign and smash it into five pieces and scatter them all over the globe. This was just insulting!

There were only a couple of kids playing in it but they could tell it wasn't very popular. It was a sandbox surrounded by exciting rides and bright shows, there were very few kids who'd rather dig in the sand.

"So, not only is our area lame, the kids _know_ it's lame," Ronny summarized. "Wonderful."

"Hey, it's not that bad," Rose said with a very obviously fake cheerful voice, "At least they got the artifacts right."

Will looked over the sign again, "No they didn't." He pointed, "Since when was King Tut's treasure one of the artifacts?"

Ronny laughed dryly, "It gets better…" She nodded at a large stone plaque in front of the entrance, "We approved it."

"What!"

The Ranger rushed to the sign but found their worst fears confirmed. They had signed their names. They're real names!

"What," Will reiterated. "What?"

"Our real names…," Ronny said with disbelief. "When did that happen?"

"I don't know but I guess this far into our future, our secret identities aren't really that big of a deal," Mack reasoned. "Still, I don't know what's worse. That they thought this was a good idea, or that somewhere out there, there's a version of us that approved of this."

"Well," Tyzonn said, now laughing, "at least we know we've got a future sandbox to approve of! Can't wait for that!"

The rest of the Overdrive Rangers joined in laughing, the sheer oddness of the situation just becoming too much to stand.

* * *

The Alien Rangers didn't ride rides, they didn't go into stores and buy trinkets. Instead they had each bought one of those autograph books and were spending the entire day going around getting the autographs of the 'Power Rangers'. Or at least those Power Rangers who were well known public servants. Those whose secret identities were never discovered couldn't sign a name and instead signed 'Mighty Morphin Yellow Ranger', or 'White Dino Ranger'.

They thought it would be funny to get the real Ranger's autographs and compare them to the actors playing them.

Most of the actors in costume wandered around during the day and it was difficult to track them down but right after lunch, each of the Ranger teams set up in front of a ride or store themed after their era and met with the fans. When the Alien Rangers finally found their ride, the 'Alien Dress up Shop', they stared at the actors who were supposed to be them

"That is uncanny," Cestro said looking between Daphine and the actor wearing the White Alien Ranger costume. "That's really uncanny."

"I don't see it," Aurico said, doing the same. "I think they look nothing alike."

Daphine shrugged, a little flattered that whoever had designed their makeup actually knew what she looked like. "At least they got the uniform right."

"Yeah, it's kind of hard to get that wrong," Tideus snorted.

"Not really," Corcus said. "Apparently in the Power Show, they used the suits for the In Space Rangers instead of the Mighty Morphin ones. Both teams are a little upset about it."

"Ouch."

Daphine walked up to herself and held out the autograph book. She smiled, "Can I have your autograph, please?"

The actress looked at her, confused. "Wow, really good costume," she said taking the book and scribbling into it absentmindedly. "Must have taken a while to get all that make up."

Daphine continued smiling, "Oh no, just a few minutes in the morning. No big deal."

The actress blinked and handed her book back, "There you go…"

Daphine widened her smile, enjoying the confusion going on behind her doppelganger's eyes, "Thank you so much!"

She stood back and watched as each of her team mates went through a similar routine with their doubles. She looked back as they walked away and saw the 'Alien Ranger's in a huddle, talking excitedly. It felt good to cause a scene every once in awhile.

* * *

Trey sprinted across the open courtyard. It felt so good to be alive again. To not by dying in his friends arms. He could remember it, dying. The loss of his other two thirds was just too much. They were back now, he could feel his courage, heart and wisdom. It feet so, so very good.

Dana struggled to keep up. "Trey, I know you're feeling better but you really should rest! You've been very sick!"

Trey slowed down, jogging next to her, "Don't worry, I feel wonderful!" He took off again, weaving in and out of the crowds.

Dana stopped, panting. Carter caught up to her, he looked around for Trey, "He got away?"

Dana nodded, "He's fast."

Carter shrugged, "He seems fine, let's just let him enjoy it. I don't think it'll stick once we go back." Neither of them wanted to think about that so they quickly changed the topic. "How about some ice cream," he suggested, spotting a cart nearby. "My treat."

Dana snorted, "No it's not. It's Wes's father's treat. It's his credit cards we're using to buy all this stuff."

Carter shrugged, "Wes said he wouldn't mind."

They walked up to the ice cream vender, who was dressed up as the Snow Prince. "What flavor," he asked, obviously bored.

"I don't know," Carter asked, eyeing the vender with amusement. He felt sorry for the guy but the combination of his costume and the fact that the 'Snow Prince' was selling ice cream, was too much to handle. "What 'cha got, Snowy?"

* * *

The second roller coaster in the park was called the Time Force Time Traveler.

"They're not really good at naming things, are they," Flynn asked, staring up at the silver and blue sign.

"This coming from a guy who built the 'Road Attack Zord'," Scott said. "Come on, let's get in line."

Dr. K held back. Summer was the first to notice, "What's wrong Dr. K?"

Dr. K shook her head, "This is really out of my comfort zone. It's bright, it's fast and at least a dozen germy people have ridden it today alone. I think I'll pass." She started to walk away.

Ziggy reached out and grabbed her hand. She froze. "Come on Doc," Ziggy said with a lopsided grin, "It's not that bad. You only get zero g's twice!"

Dr. K jerked her hand out of Ziggy's, looking away to hide her blush, "That's all well and good Ranger Series Green, but if I wanted a gravitational force of zero, I would go to space." She started walking away again when Summer caught up with her and whispered something into her ear. Dr. K's body language tensed. She whispered something back. Summer nodded. Reluctantly Dr. K turned and rejoined her team in the line.

Dillon leaned over to Summer, keeping his voice low, "What did you say?"

Summer laughed softly, "I promised to finagle it so that she sat next to Ziggy."

* * *

Turbo T.J. was at the head of the pack at the 'Turbo Dash' go cart race. He was at least two car lengths in front of Turbo Carlos and far ahead of the rest of the pack of go carts. He grinned, of course he was. He was the best racecar driver in the world, he'd out driven monsters and aliens alike. No one could match him.

Something sped past him.

It took him only half an eyeblink of comprehension before he understood what had happened. Who had happened. "Carlos!" He pushed the peddle even further but his pathetic go cart didn't accelerate. He watched in frustration as Carlos sped away, growing smaller before speeding around a curve. How had he gotten his go cart to go so fast? And how could T.J. copy it?

When he pulled up to the stop line and got out of the car, he made a bee line for the only one of his friends who had finished before him. Carlos grinned, "Jealous?"

"Very," T.J. responded. "What did you do?"

Carlos grinned wider, "I had Billy trick it out while it was under maintenance. I think he's in there working on a few other ones if you want one too." He laughed as T.J. began sprinting towards the small maintenance shed.

T.J. found Billy huddled over a bright blue go cart. "Billy!"

Billy looked up and blinked at him, "Hey T.J." He smiled, "I don't know, I just feel link I'm supposed to be fixing something. So I am. You saw Carlos's?"

T.J. nodded enthusiastically.

Billy sighed, "Give me three minutes to finish this one."

T.J. glanced outside where the next round of races was starting. He could see Carlos had somehow gotten the same go cart. "Ok, but hurry. I need some revenge!"

T.J. and Carlos weren't the only ones who ended up with turbo charged Turbo Dash go carts. By the time the Turbo Rangers left, all the go carts had been similarly boosted by Billy. This resulted in a series of truly epic races.

Of course, this being a theme park, the Rangers found themselves outnumbered by a group of high schoolers. But to their surprise, time after time, they lost. Badly. In order to simply compete with the kids who were somehow better drivers than they were, they had to constantly change their strategy. Instead of racing against each other, they teamed up against the kids. And still they lost. All of their complicated tactics and strategies failed.

The kids who were doing the winning loved the frustrated looks on the older kids faces.

T.J. considered this as the ride closed near the end of the day with the other Turbo Rangers celebrating. That last lap, they had won, coming in first through eight places after applying all they'd learned over the day. He decided that losing sometimes had a bigger effect than winning did and they had certainly learned more during this little vacation than they had the entire time they'd been trapped as action figures. He wondered…

He was distracted from the thought by a loud announcement over the loud speakers. It was time to go, the park was closing.

Turbo Adam slapped him on the back, "Come on T.J., time to go back."

T.J. snorted, "Yay…"

It was closing time. The announcement came over the loudspeakers all around the park. The Rangers slowly and reluctantly made their way towards the front. At the very back of the park, Jen and Wes walked past a strange structure on their way back.

* * *

"I wonder what that is," Jen asked as they stopped in front of it. An odd shaped tarp was covering something, they could only see a vague outline. "I don't remember it being there before."

Wes shrugged, "I don't know. Does it have a sign?"

Jen searched the front of the tarp, noticing a small sign on the other side of the wooden barrier. She climbed over it without a second thought. "It says, coming soon."

"What's coming soon?"

Jen shrugged, "It doesn't say." She climbed back over the barrier and the two started walking back towards the entrance again.

"Think it's a new ride?"

"Probably."

Behind them, the wind blew aside the tarp for a split second, revealing the name of the ride, 'A Samurai Surprise.'

* * *

The Rangers gathered outside the closed gates, unsure what to do next.

"Now what," an exhausted Pink Cassie asked nobody in particular, trying to get a good grip on her large pink teddy bear.

Nobody answered her.

In all, they were thankful for today. This break in the madness and confusion. A short time to put down the worries of their situation and bask in the silliness of the different ways they were remembered. And be thankful that they were remembered at all. Few heroes ever were.

Above them, the sky rumbled and they understood the meaning of 'the calm before the storm.' They all knew they would have to go back to where they had been before this adventure. Back to dying and injured friends, to being tiny and plastic. They just hoped they wouldn't forget the wonderful time they'd had today. They dreaded going back but they also knew that they weren't finished yet. There was still an unknown evil to find, some evil Rangers to defeat and the as of yet unexplained absence of their powers. So much to do.

After the long rumble of thunder stopped, the sky began to glow. A bright white light spread out from a point above them. The clouds and blue sky lightened until they looked almost white.

"Guess it's time to go," Dr. O said to Zeo Jason and Red Rocky who were standing nearby, "See you soon."

Zeo Jason shook his hand, "Here's hoping."

The light brightened and the Rangers began to slowly drift upward. None of the employees leaving seemed to notice.

The first Ranger reached the event horizon. Dom hesitantly reached out and touched it. "It feels like jelly," he reported. Then he vanished, in a flash of brilliant white light.

One by one, the rest of the Rangers reached the ceiling of light, touched it, and disappeared.

* * *

*Arthur's house*

Zordon was beyond relieved when the Rangers reappeared. They had been gone for almost an hour and he had been close to panicking.

Turbo T.J. started stirring.

"T.J.," Zordon boomed, "Where have you been? You and the other Rangers disappeared! Are you all right?"

T.J. looked up at him in confusion, rubbing the side of his head. He was lying right where he had been standing only seconds before. "Huh?" But, for some odd reason, he felt happier. Before he blacked out he'd been upset and stressed, angry at the world around him. But now, he felt like he'd just come back from vacation. "Huh." Inspired by something he couldn't remember and mysteriously re-energized, he grinned at Zordon, "How would you feel about stepping up the training a bit? What we're doing now isn't going to cut it. We need to push everyone to their limits, get them thinking on their feet. We need to try something new, different!"

Zordon had nothing but confidence in the Ranges but if T.J. saw something he didn't, it would be good to listen. He asked T.J. what he had in mind and listened intently as T.J. described his plan.

* * *

*AN*

Whoo! That was twice as long as normal! But it's like I just couldn't stop writing, I love this idea. A day at a Power Ranger theme park, with the Power Rangers. Too much fun:) And if this seems like a completely pointless sideshow chapter, there is more than a little plot hiding in it;), find it all if you can.

*CL*

Kimberly – Pink Mighty Morphin Ranger

Green Tommy – Green Mighty Morphin Ranger(Not to be confused with White Tommy, Red Tommy, Turbo Tommy or Dr. O.)

Zack – Black Mighty Morphin Ranger

Ziggy – Green RPM Ranger

Dillon – Black RPM Ranger

Merrick – Lunar Wolf Wild Force Ranger

Andros – Red In Space Ranger

Karone – Pink Lost Galaxy Ranger

Trevor – White Dino Ranger Clone

Wes – Red Time Force Ranger

Zhane – Silver In Space Ranger

Dax – Blue Operation Overdrive Ranger

Chip – Yellow Mystic Ranger

Trini – Yellow Mighty Morphin Ranger

Kira – Yellow Dino Thunder Ranger

Zeo Tanya – Yellow Zeo Ranger(Not to be confused with Turbo Tanya)

Red Jason – Red Mighty Morphin Ranger (Not to be confused with Zeo Jason)

Zeo Rocky – Blue Zeo Ranger(Not to be confused with Red Rocky of Mighty Morphin)

Zeo Adam – Green Zeo Ranger (Not to be confused with Black Adam of Mighty Morphin or Turbo Adam)

Turbo T.J. – Red Turbo Ranger

Justin – Blue Turbo Ranger

Blue T.J – Blue In Space Ranger

Maya – Yellow Lost Galaxy Ranger

Leo – Red Lost Galaxy Ranger

Kendrix – Pink Lost Galaxy Ranger

Damon – Green Lost Galaxy Ranger

Hunter – Crimson Ninja Storm Ranger

Tori – Blue Ninja Storm Ranger

Cam – Green Samurai Ninja Storm Ranger

Blake – Navy Ninja Storm Ranger

Shane – Red Ninja Storm Ranger

Dustin – Yellow Ninja Storm Ranger

Rose – Pink Operation Overdrive Ranger

Conner – Red Dino Thunder Ranger

Ethan – Blue Dino Thunder Ranger

Trent – White Dino Thunder Ranger

Lily – Yellow Jungle Fury Ranger

Casey – Red Jungle Fury Ranger

Theo – Blue Jungle Fury Ranger

Bulk - Cool and Awesome Bulk Ranger

Skull - Super Amazing Skull Ranger

Will – Black Operation Overdrive Ranger

Mack – Red Operation Overdrive Ranger

Tyzonn – Mercury Ranger (Operation Overdrive)

Ronny – Yellow Operation Overdrive Ranger

Delphine - White Aquitian Ranger

Corcus - Black Aquitian Ranger

Cestro - Blue Aquitian Ranger

Tideus - Yellow Aquitian Ranger

Aurico - Red Aquitian Ranger

Trey – Gold Zeo Ranger

Dana – Pink Lightspeed Ranger

Carter – Red Lightspeed Ranger

Flynn – Blue RPM Ranger

Scott – Red RPM Ranger

Dr. K – RPM Mentor

Summer – Yellow RPM Ranger

Jen – Pink Time Force Ranger

Pink Cassie – Pink In Space Cassie(Not to be confused with Turbo Cassie)

Dr. O – Black Dino Thunder Ranger

Zeo Jason – Gold Zeo Ranger

Red Rocky – Red Mighty Morphin Ranger

Dom – White Jungle Fury Ranger


	32. Chapter 32: Reinforcements part 1

Chapter 32 – Reinforcements part 1: A Samurai Surprise

Astronema held the Sword of Light as if it held the answer to all her problems, gently and with care. She carried it like a she would carry a baby, she named it Swordy and talked to it like it could understand her.

If anything Psycho Red was worse.

When it was his turn to carry the fabled blade, he held it front of him like a dowsing rod, moving it slowly from side to side and staring at it intently. His eyes seemed to glow in feverish delight whenever something only he could see happened every once in a while. He never told any of the other's why he did this.

The Black and Yellow Psycho Rangers thought they'd both lost their minds. To them, the Sword was just a Sword. Sure, it could supposedly steal the powers of a Power Ranger, but the one time they'd tested that, it had failed. They had been all for taking it back, but that had simply been because they'd gotten the chance to kick some Ranger butt. But this, wandering around pointlessly until Red got some sort of feeling and changed their direction, was just plain stupid.

Ecliptor didn't express an opinion, he followed Astronema closely and kept silent.

Psycho Black muttered something derisive under his breath making Psycho Yellow giggle.

Astronema, sensing that she was being made fun of, stopped and turned to the two Psychos. "Do you have something to say," she asked angrily.

Psycho Yellow snorted but shook her head, "Nope, nothing to add at all." She raised an eyebrow at Black and they both burst out laughing.

Astronema growled and started towards the pair, intending on harming them, but Ecliptor shook his head slightly and Astronema contented herself with a furious glare.

"Problems," Psycho Red asked when he noticed he was the only one walking.

Astronema rolled her eyes, "No, just two idiots."

"Ah," he gestured with the Sword, "Well, we're here."

Astronema looked around, "Here?"

"Apparently."

They were standing in a dark driveway between two tall brick houses. Surrounded by full and smelly garbage cans. "Uh huh. Do you have any idea what it is we're looking for?" She crinkled her nose, "And how quickly we can get out of here?"

Psycho Red shrugged, "Nope. I just know that this Sword changes colors slightly when I point it in a certain direction. It's just one color now so we must be in the right place."

"Wonderful." She sighed and waved at the two others in the alley, "Yellow, Black start looking for something."

The two, who hadn't really been listening, looked at her in confusion. "For what?"

Astronema shrugged, "No idea. But something's here and I bet it's something the Rangers wouldn't want us to have. Let's find it before some do gooders show up and stop us."

* * *

"They are too close to the portal," Ninjor said, concerned. "We have to stop them from getting in. Now that they have the Sword, they certainly cannot be allowed anywhere near here."

"There's no way they can find the portal," Clare said confidently. Her magical powers had grown exponentially over the past few months of intense use. She'd had to carefully divert the portals coming from the dark child's world so that the Rangers all landed together in a safe location. She'd also gotten very good at size modification spells, having cast one of her best on that snake beast only a few days ago. "I hid it far too well."

"You mean, behind the trash can? Yeah, they'll never find it. No, we need to go out there and take them out."

"No way! Those four could easily beat us! I'm not going out there with just _you_ as back up."

"Well, what if we get more back up?"

"You mean, from the other Rangers?"

"No," a warm, gentle and yet terrifying voice said. "We cannot trouble those who are already in this world. They must prepare for their coming challenges."

"Why? Why can't a few of them take the few minutes it would take to stop these idiots from getting in here?"

The voice dropped from gentle and warm to annoyed, "Because I don't have the power to keep the mish-mash world contained in one piece, maintain a portal to each world and battle with my brother. I'm too stretched. And stop questioning me Clare, it's really getting annoying."

"Nope."

Ninjor spoke up, "Then who did you have in mind, D? If you don't want us to go get some of the Rangers in this world, did you want us to grab the guys in the mish-mash universe?"

"No," the voice said, again sounding warm and gentle. "We must look elsewhere, to a land so far undiscovered by the powers of the darkness."

"And who might that be," Clair asked, rolling her eyes at D's insistence on always keeping her voice kindly sounding. "Are we going to turn the alleycats into Power Rangers? …because that would be really cool."

"No, I have someone else in mind," D answered. "Someone, new."

* * *

"Golden!" Antonio triumphantly sheathed his Barracuda Blade as the small Nighloks he'd just sped through exploded behind him. "See I told you they wouldn't take long!"

"Good job Antonio," Jayden said, clapping him on the shoulder. "Now let's take care of that big one!"

The large Nighlok roared at them, it's eyes glowing red. It wasn't thirty stories tall, yet, but they knew they had to kill it once before they could kill it for good.

"It seems uglier than the other ones," Mike commented as they pulled out their Spinswords.

"Nothing new about that," Emily replied. "they're all ugly."

The Nighlok roared and the Samurai Rangers charged.

* * *

Ninjor and Clare appeared in a flash of light.

"Well, where are these Samurai," Clare asked.

They heard the loud roar of a monster followed by a loud explosion and exchanged a glance. They followed the sound without a word.

* * *

"Dragon Splash!"

"Seismic Smash!"

The smoke cleared and the Rangers were shocked to see the Nighlok still standing.

"What does it take to kill this guy," Kevin asked in frustration. "We've never had a Nighlok last this long."

"Well," Mia said, taking a few steps forward, "we'll just have to keep trying until it can't anymore."

"Could you use some help," Ninjor asked as he and Clare stepped up beside them. "I'd love to tangle with this nasty beast."

"What? Who are you," Antonio asked in surprise. He pulled out his Barracuda Blade, "Are you some kind of Nighlok?"

"I am Ninjor, creator of the Power Coins, and this is Clare, apprentice Sorceress to Udonna," Ninjor said, gesturing to his companion.

"_Sourceress_? As in magic? How many people are going to just make up their own powers," Kevin asked in exasperation. "I can't handle another Antonio!"

"Hey," Antonio protested.

"Deep breath Kevin," Jayden said calmly, "Let's see what they want. I don't think these two are Samurai."

"That we're not," Clare agreed. "Actually, we've been sent here by a very important person to bring you, and by that I mean you six and you six _only_, to another dimension/world to help me and my stern buddy here stop a group of evil Rangers from accessing a very important portal to a dimension/world that holds the source of all goodness and destroying it with a very special sword and thus allow darkness to conquer everything. We're coming to you six _specifically_ so that every other Power Ranger, who are already in that dimension/world anyway, won't have to be bothered since they need to keep their strength up because they're getting ready to attack the strange child who turned them all into plastic action figures and hopefully avert the triumph of the source of all evil. Any questions?"

The Samurai Rangers blinked.

"I'm sorry," Mike said, rapidly shaking his head in confusion, "could you repeat all that?"

Ninjor sighed, "We need your help."

"See, was that so hard?"

The Nighlok, who had been standing by patiently waiting to continue it's epic battle, finally lost its tiny grip on it's temper. It roared and charged the group of Rangers.

Clare snapped her fingers, a bright white portal appeared directly in the creatures path. It ran straight into it and vanished. It didn't reappear. Clare grinned, "I've gotten good at those."

The Samurai Rangers stared.

"How did you do that," Emily asked in astonishment. "We've been trying to destroy that thing for almost an hour now!"

"Well, I didn't really destroy it so much as move it," Clare explained. "Although I've really only gotten good at portals to two worlds so it's either in the mish-mash world or Arthur's world. It'll turn up eventually."

"Clare, stop trying to teach the kids terrible lessons," Ninjor said impatiently. "I suppose one of the first questions we should answer is why you should trust us. And all I can say to that is, we are both friends and allies of all Power Rangers. I myself created the powers for the very first team of Power Rangesr and have frequently assisted them in their fight. Clare not only once acted as Gatekeeper to the Underworld but has saved her friends, the Mystic Rangers, on many occasions." He looked at the Samurai, seeing their confusion only grow. He wasn't doing a good job of explaining it to them. "You must take my word on this matter, if we had wanted to harm you, we wouldn't be here asking for your help. And know that we do not ask you for your assistance lightly. The work we ask you to do now will not only save the Power Rangers but it might very well save the universe itself." He bowed to the Samurai Rangers, "So, Samurai, will you help us?"

Jayden exchanged glances with his team then looked back at the two newcomers. He raised his chin, "I'm still not completely sure what you're asking and I won't put my friends in danger until I _know_. Explain exactly what you expect and exactly the kinds of dangers we might be facing."

Ninjore nodded, "I'll explain on the way to the portal we have standing by but keep in mind, it will still only be a small portion of the picture. This has been going on for a few _months _and would take far too long to explain every last detail."

Jayden nodded, "I understand. Please, lead the way."

* * *

"There's nothing here," Psycho Black yelled from inside the trash can. "And it smells!"

"Keep looking," Psycho Red growled. "It's here somewhere!"

"Why? Because you're hallucinating? I'm telling you there's nothing here!" Psycho Black leapt from the trash can. "I'm through! You can go crazy and all but leave me out of it!" Within a heartbeat, he was thrown up against the brick wall by Psycho Red. He tumbled to the ground and quickly leapt back to his feet, "You wanna fight? I'm not afraid of you! Bring it!"

Psycho Yellow dropped down beside him, "Me two. I'm tired of you two losers bossing me around. We don't have to listen to you!"

Psycho Red charged, holding the Sword of Light in an attack position. He swung it at Black but was tossed back when Yellow stepped up and pushed him. With a snarl, he tossed Astronema the Sword and sprang towards the two Psychos.

Astronema rolled her eyes. The Psychos had always been unstable but they were seriously losing it lately. But then she understood why. They hadn't been able to destroy the Power Rangers yet and, honestly, it was beginning to bug her too. But she had self control, unlike the three now tussling in front of her.

Noticing that the alley seemed brighter, she looked down and noticed that the Sword had began to glow. It brightened and she dropped it as it began to burn to hold it. The fighting stopped as the Sword brightened enough that they had to close their eyes and move away.

After a few seconds, the light faded and they were able to look around and quickly noticed the new arrivals.

"Rangers," Astronema hissed furiously once she recognized the ornate costumes and color coded uniforms. She dove for the Sword and grabbed it. It was cool to the touch again.

Psycho Red shoved Black and Yellow away from him. He glared at the morphed Rangers in hatred, "Power Rangers. I don't recognize you so I'm assuming you're new. What a disappointment to know we haven't destroyed you forever."

"You will never destroy us," Jayden answered confidently. "We have the power of good on our side."

Psycho Red chuckled, "Oh, ignorance..." He started toward the Samurai, face eager, "I can't wait to enlighten you."

* * *

*In a doghouse somewhere*

Dana shook her head, she'd checked Trey again and he was getting worse. "We need to get him somewhere. A hospital or something. I can't do anything to help him, I'm way out of my depth."

"What kind of hospital treats of alien plastic toys from an alternate dimensions," Gemma asked, curious. She'd like to visit that one.

"None of them," Flynn said quietly.

Gemma understood and her face wilted, "Oh."

Flynn put a comforting arm around her shoulder. "We'll find some way to save him," he said, "We're Power Rangers, it's what we do."

Danny, who was still carrying Trey, shifted Trey around on his shoulders. "Well whatever we do, we need to do fast."

Carter returned from circling their hideout. Now that the Psycho Rangers had stolen the Sword of Light again, they weren't as concerned with hiding. But they had already been surprised once today. That was enough. "Nothing out there. How's Trey?"

"Dying," Dana said shortly.

Carter winced, "Oh." After a few seconds of dense silence, he asked the difficult question, "How do we save him?"

"I can't," Dana reiterated. "This is way beyond my training." She turned to Karone, "How about you, Karone? Do you know of anything that can save him? Something from your days as Astronema?"

Karone shook her head, "No, I've can't think of anything. I have to admit, I've never come up against something like this."

"So," Carter asked again, "_how do we save him?_"

Dana took a deep breath, pushing aside her near panic and considered it, "We'd need to get him back together with his other two selves. That's the only thing I can think of that would save him. But it might be too late for even that."

"Then let's stick with our original plan," Carter said, trying to keep his voice confident. "We take him to Zordon. Surely Zordon will know of some way to find his other two parts."

The other Rangers nodded.

"All right then, let's move out."

* * *

*Harry's House*

The room was completely silent for a brief second. Silent, shocked.

Then the shouting started.

The captive A-Squad Rangers started yelling for their companions to release them. The other action figures all loudly demanded to know who they were. Venjix just started laughing.

He leapt from the shelf, form changing rapidly as he did so. When he landed, he looked exactly like the person immediately in front of him, Peter Griffin. Venjix rubbed his bulging chin and grimaced. "So this is what skin feels like," he said in Peter's naisly voice. "It's disgusting."

Peter gapped at him, "Hey! You…you look like me!"

"Nice observation fat man!" Venjix closed the short distance between then, "Now, move." He grabbed Peter by the collar and threw him as easily as a baseball.

Peter landed on the other side of the room. He didn't move.

Venjix changed his form again, back to the tall, black haired man. A Squad Green and the two Psycho Rangers leapt down beside him.

Charlie smiled, "Looks good."

Venjix admired his hand, the length of his nails rapidly growing then shrinking again. "I think it's beginning to grow on me." He surveyed the quickly growing number of figures surrounding them, "I don't recognize you, so you must not be Power Rangers. I have memorized everything about each and every one of them. What they look like, what their weaknesses and strengths are. I even know who's dating who." He took one step forward, raising his hand in a taunting gesture, "Basically, there's no way you can stop me."

"And what are you trying to do," the Tenth Doctor asked, pushing his way to the front of the crowd of toys. "What is your plan? 'Cause I've got to say, I don't like the sound of it even vaguely and if I don't like it, I'm going to have to stop it."

Venjix snorted, "Try it weakling!"

"Hey, now, watch the name calling," Peter Venkman said, walking to stand next to the Tenth Doctor. "We may not be wearing silly looking tights," he held up his proton pack, "But we've got fun toys too. I wouldn't underestimate us if I were you."

Venjix started forward but Charlie held him back. He spun to glare at her. She just grinned lopsidedly.

"We'll take care of them," she said. "I've been itching for a fight for months." The Psycho Rangers behind her started stretching and cracking their knuckles. "They have too." She patted his newly skinned hand, "No need to get your hands dirty."

Venjix blinked, an act that he found both annoying and oddly relaxing, then he grinned too. He bowed to her, "As you wish."

Charlie's grin widened. She punched him playfully, "You know just how to make a girl happy." She motioned at the Psycho Rangers before sprinting forward herself, "Let's have some fun boys!"

* * *

*AN*

And yes, this is a two parter, in the wonderful, grand tradition of Power Rangers. Of course, this being a continuing story, basically the only thing this means is that the title of the two parts won't change. They will instead have a different subtitle.

Also in the interest of self perseveration, the Samurai characters are based on what we know as of tonight, June 11, 2011. If anything changes in the show, it will most likely not be reflected here.

*CL*

Ninjor – Creator of the Power Coins – Mighty Morphin

Clare – Gatekeeper and Sorceress-In-Training – Mystic Force

Jayden - Red Samurai Ranger

Kevin - Blue Samurai Ranger

Emily - Yellow Samurai Ranger

Mike - Green Samurai Ranger

Mia - Pink Samurai Ranger

Antonio - Gold Samurai Ranger

**Search and Destroy Team 1 **

Dana – Pink Lightspeed Ranger

Corcus – Black Alien Ranger

Danny – Black Wild Force Ranger

Flynn – Blue RPM Ranger

Trey – original Gold Zeo Ranger

Kira – Yellow Dino Thunder Ranger

**Search and Destroy Team 2**

Karone – Pink Galaxy Ranger

Gemma – Silver RPM Ranger

Trent – White Dino Thunder Ranger

Carter – Red Lightspeed Ranger

**The Competent Crew(CC)**

**CC Team 1**

**(Sword of Light)**

Black Psycho Ranger

Red Psycho Ranger

Yellow Psycho Ranger

Astronema

Ecliptor

**CC Team 2**

**(with Venjix)**

Blue Psycho Ranger

Pink Psycho Ranger

A-Squad Green

A-Squad Red(Charlie)

Venjix

**(captured)**

A-Squad Blue

A-Squad Yellow

A-Squad Pink

**Other Story Characters**

O'Neill – Stargate SG1

Carter – Stargate SG1

The Ninth Doctor – Doctor Who

Rose – Doctor Who

Martha – Doctor Who

Donna – Doctor Who

Izzy – Digimon

The Tenth Doctor – Doctor Who

Peter Venkman - Ghostbusters


	33. Chapter 33: Reinforcements part 2

Chapter 33 – Reinforcements part 2: Battle Tactics

The Samurai Rangers didn't completely understand what was going on. Ninjor had done a decent job of explaining but to be standing in a different world and facing foes that had defeated their predecessors was a completely different matter altogether.

They felt _slightly_ apprehensive.

Psycho Red, the only Psycho Ranger who walked around helmetless, glared at Jayden, eyes attempting to kill him by proxy. He clenched and unclenched his fists.

Jayden calmly stared back, unruffled by his opponents hatred.

Instead of an all Ranger brawl, Astronema had suggested a one on one battle to decide who would be walking away and who wouldn't be. Red Ranger versus Red Ranger. She had suggested this in the hope that the other five Rangers would be too distracted to watch her so that she and Ecliptor could escape. But the yellow girl, it always seemed to be the yellow ones, had thought of this possibilities and had her friends fan out around them.

Astronema wasn't afraid of them. The way their eyebrows twitched and eyes widened if she even glanced at them broadcast their weakness. She could take them all easily. It was what was beyond the portal Psycho Red had been so desperate to find that really scared her.

Any force that could simply summon entire teams of strange Power Rangers was not one she wanted to face with just three psychotic backups. When she took down whatever waited on the other side, she wanted every evil villain she could threaten helping her.

But right now, with who knows how many Ranger teams just waiting to appear should things go bad for them, was the time to retreat.

Psycho Red would understand if she just disappeared and left him here. He might even applaud the move.

At the moment that thought crossed her mind and she decided to listen to it, said villain lost his composure and sprang at his annoyingly calm foe.

Jayden had faced plenty of Nighloks. They always looked strange, always had some giant eyeball sticking out of their forehead where it didn't belong, something to instantly tell him this was no ordinary creature. What struck him the most about the monster attacking him now, was how normal he looked. He looked like any dozen or people he walked passed all the time when he ventured into town. Sure, those people didn't have bright blue eyes that should be making him burst into flame and didn't move so quickly that Jayden was afraid to blink, but he looked so much like them. He began to doubt Ninjor's words. Sure, he and Clare had seemed sincere but this man just didn't _look_ like a monster. What if he was attacking some poor guy who was just having a bad day?

Jayden ducked and dove to the side as Psycho Red tried to land sweeping high kick. He rolled to his feet and sprang towards his opponent. Whoever this was, he was tough.

Psycho Red tried to recover his stance but Jayden had recoiled too quickly. He landed a powerful punch and Psycho Red was knocked back.

Psycho Red rubbed his hand across his face, feeling the where his face had caved in slightly. If he had been flesh and bone, that would have hurt. He grinned, "I'll be done with you in the next three minutes and then, I'll go after your little friends. I wonder if they'll put up more than a fight? See, it'll take a lot more than that rookie, I don't go down easily."

Jayden nodded, pulling his Spin Sword out, "I know." Whoever this guy was, going after his friends was a big no-no.

Psycho Red stared at him, looking slightly less certain, "You…you have your weapons? You have your powers?"

Jayden slid his Fire Disk on to the Sword. He smiled slightly, "Yes." He swung his sword in the air, "Fire Smasher!" A torrent of flame surrounded him and he charged Psycho Red.

Psycho Red scowled as he was engulfed in the stream of fire.

The alleyway rang with the sound and lights of an explosion. As it cleared, the Samurai Rangers cried out, Jayden lay at Psycho Red's feet.

Psycho Red rolled his shoulder, smirking, "So predictable." He looked at his hands, his fingers looked charred, his smirk slipped.

Jayden moved, turning his head to look up at Psycho Red, "Gotcha."

* * *

Bursting with fury and excitement, Charlie headed straight for the Peter Venkman. He seemed to be the weak spot in the line of somewhat competent people.

Peter flipped a switch on the back of his proton pack, "Going hot!" He pulled the trigger and a bright pink and blue beam shot from the device, it hit Charlie squarely in the stomach. It threw her back but since she wasn't a being of protoplasm, aka a ghost, it didn't spin around her and hold her. It just blasted her back so hard that she made a hole in the wall.

"Woah," Peter said, lowering his weapon. "That was kinda cool."

A Squad Green rushed back to help his teammates but the Psycho Rangers didn't stop. They ran right past Peter, heading towards the Ninth and Tenth Doctor.

Nine glanced at Ten, "Ready flop head?"

Ten snorted, shifting his weight to his left leg, "Says the guy with a _crew cut_."

The Psycho Rangers reached them before Nine could respond angrily.

Psycho Pink reached for Ten but Ten had already anticipated this move, he leaned even more to the left and let Pink simply flew past him. She'd missed by a mile.

Psycho Blue had better luck, he grabbed a hold of Nine and grappled with him.

"Could you use some help," Ten asked nonchalantly, grinning slightly.

"Nope," Nine replied through gritted teeth. "I'm good."

Blue gained the upper hand, putting Nine into a head lock.

Ten repeated his question, adding, " 'cause it looks like you could use some help."

Nine threw his weight forward, reaching his arms up and pulling Blue over his back. Blue hit the ground and Nine smirked, "Told ya I had it."

Charlie and A-Squad Green had recovered. They approached the crowd more slowly.

Charlie taunted them, "Those Psychos always leap without thinking. However, we're different." She sped up, "Attack Pattern Jupiter!"

A-Squad Green leapt on to her shoulders and sprang into the air, leaping far higher than a normal person would have been able to. She sprinted forward, ramming right into Peter. She didn't pause. She sped through Nine and Ten, ignoring them. They watched her go, confused. They had been prepared to defend themselves but were slightly miffed at being so pointedly ignored.

That's when they were hit from above by a green blur. A-Squad Green fell from sky. He landed directly in front of a surprised Peter and picked him up, spinning around and throwing him into Nine and Ten. The three collapsed into a pile.

Charlie hit the next rank of figures. She ducked under a pathetic punch from Daniel Jackson and twisted aside before Teal'c could catch her with his staff weapon. Samantha Carter tried to shoot her with her Zat gun as she rolled to the side but the electric beam simply dissipated without having any effect.

A-Squad Green arrived and took Carter by the arm, planning on repeating his throwing trick, but Carter stepped down on his foot then elbowed him in the stomach. Green quickly let go and sped after Charlie.

By this time the Psychos had recovered but they ignored the slowly untangling pile of Doctors and Ghostbusters. They dodged around most of SG1 and followed the path Charlie was plowing through the overwhelmed action figures.

Charlie was stopped when she came up against the crew of the Firefly class spaceship, Serenity.

Mal steadily held his gun pointed straight at her head, "Now hold on there missy. There's no need for this t' turn ugly. Let's just sit down and have a nice, old fashioned chat."

Charlie sneered, "Go ahead and fire. I _dare_ you."

Mal exchanged a glance with Jack O'Neill, who shrugged. A loud bang echoed throughout the room.

Charlie slowly ran a trembling hand over the small hole in her forehead. Her sneer grew insulting, "I'm plastic, you moron, just like you. I can't be killed by little bullets."

The Digi-destined stepped up. Tai motioned to his partner, Agumon, "See my little friend here?"

Charlie rolled her eyes, "You mean the tiny yellow dino, yeah. What's he gonna do, cute me to death?"

Matt spoke up, crossing his arms and smirking, "He shoots _fire _from his mouth. Can your plastic body survive that?"

Charlie's sneer vanished. She started backing away but she ran into A-Squad Green and the sprinting Psychos. Coming behind them was all those she had battled her way through. They looked angry.

"This isn't going well," Green muttered unhappily. "I thought you said this would be easy? These people are tough!"

"Shut up," Charlie snapped. "This isn't over yet." She glanced up at the table where the rest of the A-Squad was being kept. She discretely motioned to Green who followed the motion and nodded one he realized what she was saying. He jerked his head at the Psychos, what should they do about them? Charlie grinned evilly then calmed her face and leaned closer to the pair. "Hey, see that guy right there? The one wearing the silly brown coat, he said you were weak."

Psycho Blue bristled. "We're not weak," he yelled, pointing at Mal, "and your brown coat's stupid!"

This time SG1 joined Mal and Zoe in firing into the circle of Evil Rangers. They stopped after almost a full minute. Psycho Blue and Pink looked at each other and started laughing, calling each other Swiss cheese and asking how it felt to be target practice.

"Where'd the other two go," Zoe asked, quickly noticing the missing pair.

They heard shouts and looked up. The few figures who had been on the desk were being tossed over the side. The cage holding the rest of A-Squad was ripped opened and its occupants eagerly rushed out.

Charlie laughed loudly, "Hey, morons, look behind you."

The figures on the ground did so, realizing that they had forgotten someone very dangerous.

Venjix grinned, "Hello you puny creatures. Let me show you something that I've just figured out." He stretched his arms wide and he began to grow, his liquid Terminator body becoming taller and taller until he was the size of a normal human. He picked up his foot, it towered over the small figures threatening to crush them without effort. "I'd suggest running if I were you."

* * *

Jayden, Kevin, Emily, Mia, Mike and Anotnio were fighting for their lives. Astronema had abandoned her plans to flee. After seeing that no extra help appeared from nowhere to save the young Red Ranger, she came to the conclusion that whoever had sent these Rangers wasn't going to send any more. She attacked the nearest one, the ever annoying Yellow.

Emily was surprised by the attack. She had been prepared for this possibility but not at that very second. She caught one of Astronema's arms with her hand but was knocked to the side by a twisting kick.

Ecliptor appeared from his hiding place and took on Kevin and Mike. The pair of Rangers had never fought something so strange as their silent foe. He was ferocious and quick but unlike the Nighloks, he didn't say a word. It unnerved them.

Mia and Antonio ran to help Jayden. They grabbed him by the arms and jerked them out of the way of Psycho Red's stomping foot. They carefully set him out of the way. He breathed weakly, "I'll be ok. Just gotta catch my breath."

Psycho Red shook his head, "Honestly?"

Antonion bared his Barracuda Blade in response.

For relatively new Power Rangers, the Samurai put up a good fight. Their long battles had toughened them but they were simply no match for the vastly more experienced Evil Rangers. Within a few minutes, they were crowded against a trashcan, their weapons lying scattered on the ground, their bodies bruised and exhausted.

Psycho Red watched them with undisguised glee. His failures at destroying the Rangers he knew had built up a lot of resentment. Destroying these would go a few inches towards reducing that.

He wondered how to go about it. They were not plastic so he could just drop them from a tall building somewhere. But that seemed unpoetic somehow. He pondered this, then shrugged. "I'll just keep it simple." He walked towards the Samurai. "I'll give you credit," he said, taunting them. "You aren't begging, you aren't whining. It shows you are true warriors. If you were anything other than Power Rangers, I might even let you go. But since seem to wear those suits so proudly, I'll just compromise and make it quick." He reached down and picked up a pointed piece of glass, "Who's first?"

* * *

"It's my turn," Flynn said, slowing down to jog beside Carter.

Carter shook his head, "I can handle another hour or two." He shifted Trey around on his back, careful not to overbalance himself, "Besides, we've walked most of the time I've had him."

Flynn snorted, "No way. We have to keep our strength up, we still don't know how long we can at these speeds, and if you fall behind too much, we all have to slow down. Who knows if those weirdoes are still chasing us? You have to let us share the burden."

Carter reluctantly nodded. He slowed slightly so Flynn could gently take Trey from his back. He then helped position Trey so he was safely and comfortably piggybacking on Flynn.

Flynn nodded his thanks and the pair sped up, catching up with the rest of the group in a few seconds.

Flynn and Gemma exchanged a triumphant smile while Dana shot Carter with an annoyed glare. Corcus and Karone were at the front of the group, keeping just in sight. Their job was to make sure they stayed on path and didn't get lost. Trent and Kira were on the left and right wings of the core of the group, making sure the Psycho's couldn't surprise them from the sides. Danny was far behind them. He had insisted that with his stamina could take stand to stay back and catch up if someone started sneaking up behind them.

They were being very cautious with their surroundings and who might be lurking there, Trey couldn't afford the time it would take for them to fight off even one of the Psycho Rangers.

Dana angled closer to Flynn and carefully pulled up one of his eyelids. She hissed, "Guys, we need to go faster. He doesn't have much longer."

"Hey, Gemma," Carter said. "I'll take your pack so you can rest a bit. If you'd like?"

Gemma grinned, "It's all righty right! I've got it."

"No, really. Let me take it. I feel useless just running along, not helping at all." He ignored the annoyed looks Trent and Kira gave him.

Gemma stared at him silently then nodded, "All right." She narrowed her eyes, "But don't forget, it's the red wire, not the blue one."

Carter nodded quickly, hoping no one else figured out what she was saying, taking the bag and looping his arms through it easily. He turned to Dana, "I think I'll drop back and let Danny know. You guys go on ahead, we'll catch up."

"Be careful," Dana admonished. "And… don't forget, it's a left at the big house with the green shutters, not right."

Carter nodded and slowed to a stop. He disappeared from sight in seconds.

"He'll be ok," Corcus said, "He'll catch up in a few minutes."

Dana darted a quick glance behind them, "Somehow, I'm doubting that."

It took them a few minutes before they noticed that Karone was missing too.

* * *

Carter and Danny were running as fast as they could to catch up but instead of trying to catch up, they were running away from the rest of the group. Almost as soon as they left to take Trey to Zordon, Carter had decided to go back for the Sword of Light. He hated the idea of leaving it in the hands of those Psycho Rangers. He had only stayed this long with them to make sure they weren't being followed or that the Psychos wouldn't just appear to take them out.

He'd dropped back to tell Danny what he was planning so Danny could be the one to tell Dana he was disappearing and not him, but Danny had insisted on coming with him.

"Who's going to tell Dana," Carter had asked.

Danny eyed him, "It sure wasn't going to be me."

At their rapid speed and using Danny's surprising sense of direction, they were soon on their way back to the dog house they had taken shelter in.

Karone caught up. "You were going to leave me behind," she asked. "Knowing that I wanted to help Astronema?"

Carter shook his head, "Astronema doesn't want to be helped."

"She does, she just hasn't realized it yet. I can remember being her, Carter. I know what she's thinking."

Carter shrugged, "It's your decision."

* * *

The three Rangers picked up speed. They had passed the dog house and were using Karone's expert tracking skills to again follow the trail of the evil Rangers.

"I think we're getting close," Karone called. "These markings aren't that old. I'd say less than an hour at the most. But it's all zig zagy. They don't seem to know where they're going."

"Are they lost," Danny asked.

"I can't tell. They're not going in circles per say but it's close. Look, they backtracked over this spot at least twice. I wonder if they're trying to confuse their trail and hide better."

Just then the three of them heard the loud, violent boom that usually followed something nasty.

"Think it's them," Karone asked, already sure of the answer.

Carter nodded, "It's got to be."

* * *

Psycho Red held Jayden up by his arm, holding the glass in his other hand.

Jayden watched the piece of glass with a mixture of fear and determination. He would not show fear. His friends were all pleading with the Psycho but that only seemed to make him angrier.

"Shut up," Red roared. He glared at them, "I'd just said you were facing death with dignity but now you're yelling and screaming like every other person. Have _some_ control!" He gestured with the piece of glass towards Jayden, "Like this one, he's not saying a thing. This is how you die!" He moved the glass close towards Jayden's throat.

Light flashed around them and they felt an earthquake beginning, the walls shook, the ground heaved at the same time an incredibly loud boom knocked most of deaf.

Jayden was thrown from Red's grasp but he didn't seem to really notice. His attention was focused on the entrance of the alleyway. He stared.

Out of the dense mask of smoke that was billowing out of the entrance, they heard a incredibly loud yowl and a large shadow appeared in the smoke. It stepped through it. A large black, mangy looking tabby cat began tearing down the pavement towards them. It yowled again. He saw Astronema, Ecliptor, Psycho Yellow and Psycho Black sprinting to keep in front of the evil looking creature.

Astronema yelled something but it was drowned out by another ear splitting yowl.

Red dropped the glass and shoved Jayden towards the giant creature then turned and ran.

The Samurai Rangers quickly grabbed Jayden and pushed themselves against the wall. The cat ran by them, concentrating on the bright, moving toys instead. It caught up to the Psycho Rangers and easily batted them aside, it's eyes on something that sparkled and shone in Astronema's hands. It leapt forward with its powerful legs and landed with its paws on her and Ecliptor. It yowled again.

Danny appeared on top of the creatures head. He patted the beast on its ear. "Thank you, my friend," he said. "If you would just hold them for a little while longer, we will take the rest from here."

The cat yowled again in acknowledgement.

Danny called back to someone else, "I told you those lessons from Cole would come in handy! You should have gone to more of his empathy seminars!"

Carter and Karone leapt down from the cats back and walked quickly to the two entrapped figures. Carter jerked the Sword of Light from Astronemas hands. He held it with reverence, sighing in relief, "It's safe."

Astronema glared at him, "I don't even know why it's so important to you. All it does is lead to some place where those six idiots came from!"

Carter noticed the Samurai Rangers for the first time, realzing that they were Rangers he had never seen before. He took in their injuries at the same instant. They were bleeding! But plastic couldn't bleed... he shook his head, he'd figure that out later, and rushed over to them, thanking Dana for her insistence on teaching him the basics of medical care. He didn't let go of the Sword.

Karone knelt down by Astronema. Astronema looked away stubbornly. Karone sighed and glanced at Ecliptor. He was staring at her with eyes full of pride. Karone was taken aback. Ecliptor had never shown that he even acknowledged that she and Astronema were the same person, just from different points in their timeline. She smiled sadly at him.

"I wish you luck with her," he said, shocking the both of them. "She has the potential to be so much more than what Dark Specter limited her to." He turned his head slightly to talk to Astronema, "Listen to her and, please, don't be afraid to acknowledge who you really are."

Astronema opened and closed her mouth. Then her eyes became hard, "I am Astronema, the Princess of Evil, and I will destroy you all!"

Karone shook her head, "Do you remember when we first started to learn hand to hand combat? It was after we were lied too for months and convinced that everyone who cared about us was dead by the Power Rangers hands. Ecliptor had us fight one of his monsters without any training whatsoever."

Astronema snorted, "You are not me."

"_Do you remember,_" Karone insisted. Astronema muttered something that Karone took for a yes. "Do you remember how badly we were beaten, how much it hurt to even wake up the next morning?"

Astronema winced.

"And do you remember what Ecliptor told us when we complained?"

Astronema turned her head to look at Ecliptor. "He said…he said life is not about who you were but about who you want to become. I wanted to become someone who could destroy the Power Rangers."

"And knowing that they did not happen, knowing who Andros is and who I am, is that still who you want to be?"

Astronema struggled, "You are not me! You are not me! I will kill all Power Rangers for what you've done!"

Karone continued to press the issue, "You _know_ who I am, you know! Why won't you acknowledge it?"

Returning, Psycho Red knocked her roughly aside, "Leave her alone!" He pulled Astronema from underneath the cats paw. He snarled at Karone, "You leave her alone!"

At Danny's request, the cat lifted his paw to stomp them again but Psycho Red shoved Astronema forward and they began to run, joining up with Psycho Black and Yellow at the end of the alley. He stopped and yelled a challenge back at the Rangers, "I'll be back. Watch your backs, some day you'll find my knife sticking out of it!"

After whispering something in his ear, Danny leapt off the cats back. The cat sprang down the alley and the Psychos fled again.

Carter watched them go, gently holding the shimmering Sword of Light. They would be back and when they were, it would most likely be trouble.

* * *

*AN*

Whoo, that was another long one! This is getting to be a habit. This chapter is pretty much wrapping up the Search and Destroy Teams, there will be a little more about them but not _this_ much. We do have quite a lot of other Rangers to catch up with…

*CL*

Jayden - Red Samurai Ranger

Kevin - Blue Samurai Ranger

Emily - Yellow Samurai Ranger

Mike - Green Samurai Ranger

Mia - Pink Samurai Ranger

Antonio - Gold Samurai Ranger

**Other Characters:**

Peter Venkman - Ghostbusters

Jack O'Neill – Stargate SG1

Samatha Carter – Stargate SG1

Tealc – Stargate SG1

Daniel Jackson – Stargate SG1

The Ninth Doctor – Doctor Who

The Tenth Doctor – Doctor Who

Tai and Agumon – Digimon

Matt – Digimon

Mal - Firefly

Zoe - Firefly

**Search and Destroy Team 1 **

Dana – Pink Lightspeed Ranger

Corcus – Black Alien Ranger

Danny – Black Wild Force Ranger

Flynn – Blue RPM Ranger

Trey – original Gold Zeo Ranger

Kira – Yellow Dino Thunder Ranger

**Search and Destroy Team 2**

Karone – Pink Galaxy Ranger

Gemma – Silver RPM Ranger

Trent – White Dino Thunder Ranger

Carter – Red Lightspeed Ranger

**CC Team 1**

**(Sword of Light)**

Black Psycho Ranger

Red Psycho Ranger

Yellow Psycho Ranger

Astronema

Ecliptor

**CC Team 2**

**(with Venjix)**

Blue Psycho Ranger

Pink Psycho Ranger

A-Squad Green

A-Squad Red(Charlie)

Venjix

**(captured)**

A-Squad Blue

A-Squad Yellow

A-Squad Pink


	34. Chapter 34: Preperations

Chapter 34 – Preparations

Xander Bly ate an apple. He didn't need to eat the apple, being plastic and all, it just gave him something to do. These kinds of discussions always bored him. Sitting around and planning was for the planning people, he was more of a talker. He'd prefer to get the monster to give up than find some complicated way of killing it.

As Blue T.J. began to go over the attack plan for the second time, he yawned and glanced through the window of the cardboard house. Walking quickly past was a group of Rangers, all talking excitedly among to each other. He recognized Vida, Jack and Red Rocky among the group. They must be one of the groups out playing, or 'training' as Blue T.J. liked to call it.

The planning meeting for which he was supposed to be listening to.

After the strange mass blackout, Turbo T.J. had replaced their hourly sparring matches with elaborate games of skill. House wide games of hide and seek that could last for hours, speed competitions, strategy matches where Rangers faced off against some of the more devious reformed Villains on a giant board with countries painted on it.

Training, games, whatever the two T.J.s called them, he would still be bored sitting here.

Blue T.J. noticed, "Xander, are you even listening?"

Xander nodded absently, "Yeah, I know. Preparing for tomorrow…saving the universe… continue." He had been listening, just not caring about the content. Why was he sitting here again?

Blue T.J. started to continue when Xander decided he'd had enough of this and stood.

Blue T.J. and the other Rangers in the room glared at him.

Xander just grinned confidently, "I've _just_ remembered…. I have to go…um…somewhere. And do some…things. See ya!" He ran out the door, the Rangers he'd left behind just rolling their eyes and continuing their planning.

Freedom, Xander thought happily. There was nothing like it! He jogged down the main street, dodging his fellow Rangers. He waved at a few and grinned at others. He ran past the Command Center and it staff of Rangers bustling in and out, past the Mighty Morphin Mansion and straight out from under Arthurs bed. Sunlight streaming in from the window struck him, he softened his skin so he could feel it's warmth. He sighed.

"I thought you had a planning meeting today," Madison asked, walking up.

Xander shrugged, still grinning, "I was getting twitchy. It's much more exciting out here."

Groups and teams of Power Rangers were engaged in various activities throughout the room. Not far from them, Sky was facing Blue Rocky in a sparring match. While standing on half of a pencil. Over a thermos of ice cold water.

To their left, a few of the more adventurous Ranges were climbing ropes up Arthurs wall and then repelling down them. Zhane and Max had both reached the top at the same time and, after a conspirital glance, were now racing downwards on the line as quickly as they could. Max landed first but he hit the ground hard. Syd, who had been standing and waiting for her turn, quickly checked on him and made sure he was ok. Max stood, a little shaky, and waved her off. Zhane walked by and the pair high fived. Syd shook her head.

Over by the door, Arthur was tossing small pieces of paper in the air and those Rangers with guns were taking turns blasting holes in them. The wall behind beside the door had tiny scorch marks on it.

"Well, you could always join one of the games," Madison suggested slyly. "I hear they have a spot open in the Strategy tournament, you could try your hand at Risk again."

Xander winced, "Ah, no. I don't think the Ninja Storm Rangers have forgiven me yet."

"It might take them awhile," Madison agreed heartily. "Next time you start to 'delegate' you might want to make sure you know what you're talking about." She shrugged and started walking away, "There's always the remote control car races."

Xander shivered. He'd gone down stairs and watched one race, they were being held on the entire downstairs hardwood floor. There were five cars, each had been modified so that they were controlled from the steering wheel inside the car instead of by a remote control. He'd been reminded that some Rangers were _very_ competitive. Xander caught up with Madison, "Uh…I think I'll just try Risk again."

* * *

Maya watched one of the small cars skidded around the corner. She tensed, preparing herself. Just as the car was about to strike her and it's driver had fully panicked, she sprang into the air gracefully clearing the car. She repeated the process for the other four cars, their drivers all reacting with the same terrified expression when she didn't move until the last second.

On their second lap, the drivers were ready. They tried to swerve around her, forgetting their race in an attempt to miss her. She easily moved back into their path and leapt over them. Once she was able to jump two cars at the same time.

The next time they came around the corner from the kitchen, the cars skidded to a stop in front of her. Dillon leapt out, furious.

"Are you insane," he demanded. "I could have hit you!"

"You couldn't hit me with spaceship," Maya confidently replied. "You don't have the skill."

Dillon was silent, fuming at the challenge in her words. He nodded sharply, "Watch me." He started walking back to his car.

Turbo Tommy put out a hand to stop him, "Think about what you're saying! You can't _try_ to hit her!"

"She out right challenged my driving!"

"She's just trying to rile you up!"

"Yeah, well she's doing a good job!"

Conner peeked his head out of the window of his car at the back of the pack, "Dude, we can't hit a girl! Especially not with a car!"

"That's not a car, and she's not a girl," Dillon growled. "That's a tiny little toy with a bad motor and she's a plastic action figure. She can't be killed, none of us can!"

Ronny revved the engine to her small car, "If she's up to it, I am."

Maya nodded, "Try and hit me. I dare you."

* * *

Also downstairs, with the volume turned up to overpower the ruckus from the car races, was a group of Rangers who had decided that they could learn the most by watching their past.

They had already skipped through the episodes in the first Mighty Morphin season, the Overdrive season and Time Force season. They were generally underwhelmed by the actors portraying them but had enjoyed them for the most part.

"Who's up next," Hunter asked, helping Tyzonn take the DVD out of the DVD player.

"But we didn't watch any episodes in them with me," Eric complained from his comfortable cocoon of blankets on the sofa. "I think you purposefully stopped it before I showed up."

"We can't watch all the episodes," Taylor said, sitting next to him and desperately trying to keep her temper in check. "We already went over that." Her temper was wearing extremely thin. Eric was not the easiest person to care for. He complained, he whined, she was getting ready to duct tape his mouth shut. But instead, she took a deep breath and just shook her head. "How about we see what really happened to the RPM Rangers," she suggested. "They still won't tell us."

"We can't," Hunter said, shrugging apologetically, "Arthur hasn't gotten their DVD's."

"Well," Jack said, "Since we're going to a different world to fight an unknown enemy, shouldn't we be watching the Rangers who've done that?"

"What, fought an unknown enemy? That's all of us man," Eric retorted sarcastically. "Let's watch the rest of my season!"

"_No,_" Taylor said with the tone of someone who was not going to allow for any more arguments, "it's someone else's turn."

Eric scowled and muttered something definitely not PG. Taylor just rolled her eyes.

"I _meant_ the Lost Galaxy Rangers," Jack said to cover the awkward silence that followed. "They were always the ones out exploring new planets and the such."

"Sounds like a plan," Turbo Kat quickly agreed. "And after them, In Space. Since they kind of did the same thing while looking for Zordon."

Carlos shook his head, "Oh no, there's no way we're watching ours. I hate watching myself on TV."

"That's not you kid," Indiana Jones reminded him. "Just some actor who needs lessons." He had been watching their show with a mixture of awe and confusion. On the one hand, sometimes he wanted to burst out laughing because it was all so ridiculous but on others, he found himself deeply touched by these kids dedication and bravery. Normally, he didn't even try to hide his amusement when something was just plain silly but after the way the Rangers had stalwartly held in their laughter after he somehow survived a nuclear explosion in a refrigerator, he felt he owed them to return the favor.

"All right," Dax said dramatically deepening his voice, "next up, a galaxy unknown!"

The Rangers booed.

* * *

Dr. K burst out of the Command Center, "We've got a hot one!"

Jen followed her out, shouting to everyone around, "I want every available Ranger to the middle of the room! Now!"

"What is going on," Lily asked, watching other Rangers follow Jen out of the Command Center. They looked excited but worried.

Cam ran past her, not stopping, "We've got incoming."

"What does that even mean," she exclaimed. When none of the Rangers stopped to answer her, she just sighed and followed the crowd.

* * *

Three ranks of Rangers surrounded the center of Arthur's room. They were tense, unsure what to expect.

At the center of the circle, a tiny pinpoint of pale yellow light formed. It grew slowly, brightening at the same time until it was the size of a dime.

The Rangers on the front lines, took a nervous step back as bolts of lightning began to shoot upwards from the orb. They didn't strike anyone but that didn't stop the Rangers from getting more nervous.

A few seconds past at this stage with the sphere staying the same size and lightning shooting from it then they heard a voice emanate from somewhere inside the sphere. "You…um… you might want to take a few steps back," it said to no one in particular.

The Rangers obliged, taking a few, very large steps away from the object.

"Here we go," the voice called.

The portal quadrupled in size, brightening to the point of blinding them, then, all at once, subsided.

A pale hand reached out from nowhere, it wiggled in the middle of the open air as if seeing if there was something in the way. When it didn't find anything, it withdrew and two figures came through.

Ninjor and Clare looked around, enjoying their surprise.

Clare grinned at all the shocked faces around her, "Hi, it's been awhile." She spotted Udonna and waved cheerfully, "Good evening! I've been practicing my portals!" She stepped aside and gestured at the portal, "I found these guys wandering around an alleyway picking a fight with some crazy Rangers. Are they yours?"

Karone, Carter and Danny stepped through the portal. They looked exhausted and seemed to barely keep standing. They smiled tiredly and moved out of the way.

Andros instantly ran to his sister, throwing his arms around her in relief, "You're ok! That's it, you don't ever get to go anywhere again!"

Karone blushed in embarrassment, "Brother..."

"And these," Clare said, "were wandering around lost a few blocks away. I'm assuming they belong to you too?"

Dana and Corcus came out next. They smiled briefly at their friends then turned and helped Flynn carry Trey out of the portal. Dana called to Ryan, who was standing nearby, "Help us get him to Zordon, now!"

They rushed off with Trey, carrying him between the two of them.

"What happened to him," Zeo Kat asked, catching up with the pair. Tanya and Gold Jason followed, troubled and alarmed about their teammates unmoving form.

Dana shook her head, "I'll tell you later. Right now, we need to ask Zordon how to save him."

Kira, Trent and Gemma came through next. Seeing their fellows tense and worried faces, Trent elbowed Gemma. Gemma looked at him, not understanding. He motioned at what Gemma was holding. With a nod and grinning, Gemma held up the Sword of Light and the collective Rangers sighed in relief. The source of all goodness was safe. They felt their burden ease slightly.

The present RPM and Dino Thunder Rangers grouped around their friends, asking them how they managed to recover the Sword.

After a few seconds of happy greetings, Kira grinned, stepping away from the group, "Have we got a surprise for you!" She stuck her head back through the portal, "Come on guys, they don't bite."

Six new figures appeared from the light. They nervously kept their eyes from meeting the others.

The Rangers noticed their uniforms first, then they noticed that one of them was bleeding.

"Ladies and Gentleman, Rangers and Rangeretts," Trent proclaimed, "May I introduce the Power Rangers: _Samurai._"

Cam shoved his way through the crowd, uncharacteristically excited, "Did somebody say _Samurai?_"

* * *

*AN*

Well, most of the gangs all back together now! Great timing too since the big attack is _tomorrow_! Wonder how the Mishmash Universe Team is doing?

Yup, another Kingdom of the Crystal Skull joke. I've got a folder full of 'em! And really, I think the entire movie would improve if just that one sequence was removed because of the people I've talked to, myself included, that's what pulled them out of their suspension of disbelief. It's just silly.

Moving on…

The opening theme of Lost Galaxy had them heading to a galaxy unknown. It was a bad joke and I'm not proud of it;).

Jumping over cars is not something you should try at home. You are not tiny, you are not plastic and you are _not_ Power Rangers.

Cam is excited because he's the only samurai in a season of ninja and probably felt like an oddball. Now he's not the only guy at his monthly samurai party!

*CL*

Xander – Green Mystic Ranger

Blue T.J. – Blue In Space Ranger

Turbo T.J. – second Red Turbo Ranger

Red Rocky - second Red Mighty Morphin Ranger

Madison – Blue Mystic Ranger

Zhane - Silver In Space Ranger

Max - Blue Shark Ranger - Wild Force

Syd - Pink SPD Ranger

Sky - Blue SPD Ranger

Blue Rocky - Blue Zeo Ranger

Hunter – Crimson Thunder Ranger – Ninja Storm

Tyzonn – Mercury Ranger – Operation Overdrive

Eric – Quantum Ranger – Time Force

Taylor – Yellow Wild Force Ranger

Jack – Red SPD Ranger

Turbo Kat – Pink Turbo Ranger

Indiana Jones – Not a Ranger

Dax – Blue Operation Overdrive Ragner

Maya – Yellow Lost Galaxy Ranger

Dillion – Black RPM Ranger

Turbo Tommy – Red Turbo Ranger

Connor – Red Dino Thunder Ranger

Ronny – Yellow Operation Overdrive Ranger

Dr. K – RPM Mentor

Jen – Pink Time Force Ranger

Lily – Yellow Cheetah Ranger – Jungle Fury

Ninjor – Creator of the Power Coins

Clare – Udonna's apprentice, Gatekeeper and Moon Knight

Karone – Pink Galaxy Ranger

Carter – Red Lightspeed Ranger

Danny – Black Wild Force Ranger

Andros – Very protective of his sister

Dana – Pink Lightspeed Ranger

Corcus – Black Alien Ranger

Trey – original Gold Zeo Ranger – Is mysteriously sick

Zeo Kat – Pink Zeo Ranger

Tanya – Yellow Zeo Ranger

Gold Jason – Gold Zeo Ranger

Flynn – Blue RPM Ranger

Kira – Yellow Dino Thunder Ranger

Gemma – Silver RPM Ranger

Trent – White Dino Thunder Ranger

Jayden - Red Samurai Ranger

Kevin, Blue Samurai Ranger

Emily - Yellow Samurai Ranger

Mike - Green Samurai Ranger

Mia - Pink Samurai Ranger

Antonio - Gold Samurai Ranger

Cam – Green Samurai Ranger – Ninja Storm


	35. Chapter 35: Endless Day

Chapter 35 – Endless Day

Twilight was an interesting phenomenon in the Mish-Mash world. It never actually got dark. Instead, after the sun began to set, it's edge just dipping below the horizon, it slowly reappeared on the opposite side of the sky to begin its journey anew.

Alex observed this with annoyance. Nighttime was supposed to be a time to rest, to take the cares of the daytime and leave them until the sun rose again. No wonder the people in this town had lost their minds, they were being deprived of such an essential thinking time.

Trevor had warned them not to go out into the town, the citizens wouldn't like it.

He had ignored those warnings, of course. He could take care of himself. But…he had pulled on sweats and a jacket to cover his uniform.

He passed by the hand like circle of buildings and the portal it hid, keeping wide of it.

Apparently the citizens knew that it was supposed to be nighttime, there were only a couple of people walking around. They nodded at him, not recognizing his face. He nodded back and moved on.

His destination was easy to find, it was the only building with a gaping hole in the front of it. Colonel Mason was direction a group of his soldiers in basic exercises out front.

Alex stopped, watching the familiar routine. He'd always loved working out before heading to his bunk, his tired body made it easier to shut off his always anxious brain. The only time he remembered being able to go to sleep without worrying about something for a few hours first, was the night right after they caught Ransik. The night Jen agreed to marry him. His worries were gone and joy was an easy emotion to sleep with.

One of the soldiers noticed him and directed Colonel Mason's attention his way. Colonel Mason turned control of the exercise over to one of his subordinates and walked over. "You're out late."

Alex shrugged, "Or early, I can't tell which."

Mason glanced at the sun, now completely over the horizon, "It takes some getting used to, I'll admit." He noticed Alex was restless, "What's on your mind?"

Alex looked away, uncomfortable with opening up. "Nothing," he lied, "just couldn't sleep."

"Well, something's keeping you awake. You don't have to start weeping like a little girl, but talking helps clear the mind."

Alex shook his head and the stood in silence for a few minutes, the only sound was the men counting out pushups. "I…," he began, "The day after tomorrow, we're going to attack whoever it was who did this to us." He fixed Mason with a sharp stare, "We're not supposed to tell anyone but you seem to be someone I can trust."

Mason nodded his head solemnly.

"Trevor is going to help us."

Mason whipped his head to look at him, "_Trevor?_"

Alex nodded, "Surprised me too. Apparently he hates the chick who's behind this more than he hates us."

"Wouldn't have expected that from the little weasel."

"Me either."

They fell silent again, the soldiers finished their evening calisthenics and were filing back inside their damaged base. Probably heading to their bunks and a good nights rest, hidden away from the sun that would never set.

"You're from the Time Force team, right," Mason asked, breaking the uncomfortable silence. He had decided to take a chance with Alex, show him something not many people had seen.

"That's what the badge says."

"Then, I think I have something that belongs to you."

He led the way inside.

The damage to the hallways lessened the deeper they walked, the explosion had been very powerful but the building Mason and his soldiers had based themselves in was a strong, sturdy one. They passed pairs of guards every few yards, each time the guns were pointed at him until Colonel Mason waved at them to let him pass.

The hallway ended at a thick looking wooden door, five guards stood outside. They pointed their guns at both of them.

"Delta Foxtrot Alpha," Mason said calmly. The guns were lowered and one of the guards unlocked the door, it swung open with a creak.

Mason went through first, followed by Alex.

Alex stopped in the doorway, immediately tense and angry. Ciruit, the little blue robot owl, was wired up to at least three different machines. A mass of thick and thin wires poked out of his head, his wings and his feet. They curled together before splitting to attach to one of the three machines arrayed along nearby wall. His metal eyelids were open and the glassy pupils behind them were wide, he was awake. His eyes turned towards Alex, his beak opened but no sound came out.

"Mason," Alex said through tightly gritted teeth, "You have three seconds to explain before I start breaking things."

Mason didn't answer, instead he flipped a switch on a nearby screen. Circuit stiffened and it flickered to life.

"Hey," Alex said, briefly forgetting Circuit in his surprise, "That's Arthur's house!"

Mason nodded, "One day or night, after the sun had reset itself, a bright light appeared in the sky. No one knew what it was but people wondered just what else was going to fall from the sky. It took three days, six sun resets, for it to crash into the earth. My people were the first on the scene. Little Circuit was lying at the center of the crater, along with a desk chair and a pair of _sunglasses_. We recovered them first so that when Trevor's men arrived, they found an empty hole. I think he knew we found something. He tried more than once to get in here. Well, after a few days, we noticed that Circuit would go still and silent for a few minutes a day. After he started moving again, he would talk about strange things he had seen. Thing that made no sense. And he kept mentioning you guys. That you were somewhere but he couldn't say where exactly. We didn't believe him for a long, long time. Eventually he started talking about other things too, about some shadowy figure. This shadowy figure scared him. We started listening then. Some of my guys are pretty smart, they figured out a way for us to see what he's seeing." He nodded at the blue owl, "He volunteered to be hooked up to these."

Mason pressed a button on one of the other machines and the view changed.

The screen was dim, whatever it was showing was difficult to make out. It appeared to be a room of some kind, there was an odd ovular structure in the middle and something they couldn't quite make out further away.

"We think this is where the shadowy person lives. Every once in a while, a dark shadow will move across the room, almost too quickly to see. We don't know who it is."

Alex leaned closer to the screen, "Hissta calls her Lady. I'm betting that's who you're seeing."

"I thought you were just kidding earlier. It's really some woman? And who's Hissta?"

"Half snake- half person who was created by this person to come and take some of us back to her lair. She's kind of annoying. And, yeah, we really think it's a woman. Actually by Hissta's talk, it's a young girl with some kind of super powers."

"Wonderful, they're always the one with the issues."

"What does that one show," Alex asked, gesturing to the other machine Circuit was connected to.

"Nothing. Literally nothing. The screen just goes dark."

Alex looked at Circuit, who hadn't taken his eyes off him since he came in. They could spy on the Lady with this, get some intel on her movements and habits. It could really help him. "Is he in pain," he asked. He felt foolish for asking. It was a robot, surely he couldn't feel pain. But after having just spent months as a tiny plastic figurine, he had more empathy for things that supposedly couldn't feel.

Mason hesitated, "We…we don't know. He can't talk while he's connected to the machine and we're afraid if we disconnect him, we'll lose the connection and not be able to find it again."

He tried to read the robot's expression, was he begging to be let off those machines? Or was he begging to stay? Coming to a decision, he nodded. Just one more day and he was sure he would have the information he needed. Surely Circuit to take just one more day. "Let me see your records, I'm going to need all the information I can get." He had another thought, "And don't tell the others. _Any_ of them."

Mason shook his head, "I can't promise that. I know you're one of the Ranger but I've known Summer for years. If she starts asking questions, I'm going to answer them."

"Fine," Alex said through gritted teeth, "But _no one_ else." They would do the noble thing and let Circuit out of there. He couldn't let that happen just yet.

Mason shook his head again then left to give the appropriate orders.

* * *

Alpha 5's new paint sparkled in the bright morning sun. His red body was polished to perfection and the yellow lightning bolt on his chest shone. His dome lit up happily, it's lights new and bright, "Aye, aye, aye! I am fixed! I haven't felt this good in decades!"

Billy grinned proudly, "It took all night but I finally got everything back the way it should be."

"He looks wonderful," Tommy said fondly, patting Alpha 5 on the shoulder, "Just like new."

"He's better than new," Billy continued. "I've built an entire arsenal of new functions for him. Show him program Alpha-263."

Alpha's lights whirled, his red armor expanded to allow room for a small pair of prongs to spring from his wrist. Electricity crackled between the poles.

"In case someone ever tries to hurt him again," Billy explained. "It's nothing like what we have but he didn't want a gun or laser. This is the best he would let me add."

"I don't want to hurt anyone," Alpha exclaimed, "It's against my programming!"

"I'm glad to see he's back in operational order," Angela said, closing the door behind her. Hayley and Daggeron were with her of course. They were never seen far from each other. "If I understood the circuitry or any of that strange language that was written on his circuit boards, I would have tried to fix him months ago."

"It's a good thing you didn't," Billy said. "Alpha is programmed to shut down if you start tampering with the wrong system. You could have caused a total system failure."

"Oh, don't worry," Hayley said. "We wouldn't have tried something like that without _months_ of study." She grinned, "We were actually getting ready to attempt it before you guys showed up."

The streets outside the mansion were still empty, the sun was just rising over the horizon. Most people who could were still asleep, trying to ignore the strangeness of the ever present daylight outside.

"We've got two days, right," Vida asked, ruining the relaxing atmosphere. "Two days before we have to attack?"

Summer nodded, "Today then tomorrow then we go through the Ring."

"Wonderful. But what are we going to do for the next two days? I mean, we've found the portal so we don't have to go looking for it. What else do we need to do?"

"I've been thinking about that," Tommy said. "I meant to discuss it with Alex but I couldn't find him this morning." The others shrugged, they didn't know where he was either. Tommy continued, "We need to reconnect with the citizens."

A man walked by the mansion. He glanced up at them, scowled and shook his head, then continued walking.

Tommy watched him consideringly. "Do you see what I mean?"

Chad nodded, "We've apologized to Trevor, who really didn't deserve one, but we have yet to apologize to the actual people we've hurt." He took a few steps down the stairs to the street, "We need to try and make amends for our absence."

"That will be difficult," Daggeron said. "these long months have made them hate you."

Trevor shoved the door aside, it hit the side of the house with a bang, he glared at the Rangers. "Listen, _Rangers_, I know you feel 'guilty' for missing out on the people's misery but don't you dare start trying to sway them back in your good graces by groveling or whatever you have in mind. They don't owe you anything."

Vida glared at him, "We know you like being king of your little hill here, Trent, I mean _Trevor_, but we are not trying to steal your little crown. We are going to try to make it up to them because we _want_ to. Because we _need_ to. So take a deep breath and calm down."

Trevor glared at Vida and a small glaring contest broke out. Hayley eventually got tired of it and stepped between their lines of sight, "Ok, here's what's going to happen." She turned to Trent, "You're going to let the Rangers go out and make nice." Trevor started to protest but Hayley continued talking, "because _we_ will be going with them." She gestured to Angela and Daggeron. She raised her chin, "You trust _us_ to watch them, don't you?"

Trevor was silent for a second then looked away. "Yes," he muttered reluctantly. He regained his steam from earlier, "But they don't go anywhere near the Ring!" He glared at Tommy, "You had better not run off again. I still need you for my attack."

Tommy shook his head, "We will not leave the city, we promise."

Summer broke the tension by walking down the stairs, "Then we had better get started."

"But where should we start," Chad asked. "I mean…" He glanced around them at the slowly filling streets, "who did we hurt the most?"

"I don't think that's something we can accurately measure," Billy said softly, Alpha 5 tottering beside him. "There is no scale for emotional pain."

"Might I suggest," Daggeron said, nodding in the direction of a woman struggling to hold a half dozen heavy looking bags, "you start with something simple?"

* * *

*AN*

These next few chapters aren't going to move the plot along much. I feel like I've been putting the plot ahead of the characters, pushing characters into acting out of character to hurry up the plot. So I'm going to slow it down a bit and have a chapter or two of character study. That doesn't mean that nothing will happen, just don't expect the sun to go out and the world to fall apart again. It would also be inadvisable to expect a mountain to collapse and a lake to dry up. None of these things are definitely, for sure not going to happen. Maybe.

*CL*

**Mystery Universe Team**

Billy Cranston - Mighty Morphin Blue

Tommy – Red Turbo but remembers Zeo

Chad Lee – Blue Lightspeed Rescue

Alex – Red Time Force

Vida Rocca – Pink Mystic Force

Mack Hartford – Red Operation Overdrive

Summer Landsdown – Yellow RPM

**Mystery Universe Inhabitants**

Fran – Friend of the Jungle Fury Power Rangers, helps run the Jungle Karma Pizzeria

Colonel Mason – Commander of Corinth in RPM

Ernie – Owner of the Juice Bar from Mighty Morphin to Zeo

Soldiers – from assorted seasons

Evil White Dino Clone(I'm calling him Trevor) – a 'soulless' clone of the White Dino Ranger Powers, which belonged to Trent, created by Mesogog(Dino Thunder).

Hayley – Co-Mentor to Dino Thunder Rangers – Lost her memory

Daggeron – Ancient Warrior who assists the Mystic Force Rangers - lost his memory

Angela – Scientist from Lightspeed Rescue - lost her memory

People from every city in Power Rangers history


	36. Chapter 36: Hidden Deep

Chapter 36 – Hidden Deep

A simple act of kindness? Just one act of kindness? It really shouldn't be this hard.

Chad Lee glanced up at the sun and sighed. They had been at this for hours now and they hadn't found a single person who would let them help. Even with Trevor and Daggeron tagging along, none of the citizens of the Mish Mash Town wanted anything to do with the Rangers. They had tried helping with clean up, with building, even just holding the ladder for a guy trying to hang a sign. Every time they were turned away, sometimes rudely, sometimes not.

Chad now knew what it felt like to be a fish out of water. He didn't like it. It made his shoulders feel heavy, it made him want to hunch over, it made him feel like hiding even more. He had always been pretty comfortable around people but this strange new feeling was dampening his spirits.

The other Rangers had split up a while ago, ignoring Trevor's advice in an attempt to see if people would open up to them one on one. He walked alone down the main street, total silence around him, feeling the stares of the people around him even though they avoided meeting his eyes and stopped talking anytime he went near them. He mentally relaxed his shoulders from tensing forward. He randomly took a turn down an alley, wanting to avoid the main street and it's unnerving silence.

The alley was wide and seemed to be the unnatural intersection of two of the Rangers hometowns. The buildings didn't match, one was a made form a deep red brick while the other seemed to be a glass office building. A large, jagged piece of sidewalk was propped up against the side of a building like it had been dropped.

Chad ducked under the tent like structure this created and kept walking.

The alley opened up a few yards later into a wide, spacious courtyard. The broken concrete gave way to a tiled terrazzo made of dirty, unpolished pieces of multicolored marble. He couldn't make out the pattern through the thick mud that covered most of the tiles. The tall stone pedestal of a broken fountain rose from the center of the courtyard, its pieces laying around it in a circle. Three soaring buildings enclosed the courtyard on all sides, giving this place an open but hidden feeling.

In one corner, a lone teen with dark black hair worked with a broom, sweeping dirt into a pile.

Chad could see a head and possibly a hand among the rubble surrounding the fountain. He wondered if it had been a person. He took a few steps towards the fountain.

The teen looked up, hearing steps echo on the loud marble. His eyes widened. "You're one of _them_," he said, his voice squeaking.

Chad just nodded, that wasn't the first time he'd gotten that reaction today. Or the thirtieth. He kept walking, finally stopping at the first piece of stone that had once been part of the fountain. He picked it up. It was a morpher, In Space, if he remembered correctly. He scanned the rest of the wreckage and found the other five morphers. This had been a fountain dedicated to the In Space Rangers. Had the impact of the worlds colliding done this? Or had it been a intentional act of destruction?

He tossed the morpher back on the pile and nodded. _This_ is what he would fix. This little area would be beautiful once he got through with it, he would clean the tile and fix the fountain.. But, he thought, moving quickly to the teen and gently but firmly taking his broom, with one slight change. He began to brush the rubble to the side, including the pieces of the In Space Rangers. The last thing these people wanted, he reasoned, was a statue of the Rangers. The courtyard, yes, the Rangers, no.

He wasn't surprised when the teen left, slipping quickly and quietly past him and sprinting down the alleyway. He was surprised, however, when the teen came back. And he brought a tall, brown headed friend with him. The pair were each holding a the long handle of a broom. They silently joined Chad in pushing the mud and rubble to the side of the courtyard. Chad pushed his broom with a little more enthusiasm, having people simply willing to be near him meant more than he had thought it would. He hadn't realized how much his friends meant to him until they weren't here anymore and no one else seemed willing to fill the void.

* * *

The courtyard was cleared. In one corner, a tall pile of mud was pushed against the wall and would remain there until they could find some way to carry them out. They began working on the fountain itself. Still in complete silence.

One of the teens mutely handed Chad a wrench he had brought from somewhere. In a small hatch beneath the fountain, Chad used it to tighten a replacement pipe that the other teen had somehow found. He hoped there wasn't a bathroom somewhere missing a few key pipes.

He was almost finished. Plumbing wasn't his specialty but most of the waterworks underneath the pedestal were undamaged. Over the past hour, he had found only three pipes that had needed replacement and checked the others he could reach for rust or cracks. He hadn't found any. Whoever had built this had done a wonderful job. It was sturdy and easily fixed. They had probably built it to be repaired quickly if it was damaged in a monster attack, a wise design in a world full of such happenings.

With one last grunt, the last bolt tightened around the pipe. He wiped the sweat off his head and nodded. That was done. He looked up at the two boys, who looked right back at him. He decided to take a chance, "Do you know the main line is? If we want this place looking nice, we're going to need water."

One teen glanced at the other, who nodded. "I know," the brunet one said in a deep voice that didn't match his thin exterior. "I'll be right back." He ran off, ducking under the sidewalk ledge.

Chad pulled himself out of the hatch and closed the metal door shut behind him. He rolled his shoulders to loosen them.

"Who are you?"

Chad turned and looked at the black haired teen. "My name's Chad," he said, surprisingly glad the teen had broken the nervous but comfortable silence. "Chad Lee."

The teen eyed his suit, "You're a… Power Ranger?"

Chad nodded, "Blue Lightspeed Rescue Ranger. What's your name?"

The teen didn't answer.

A few seconds later, there was a rumbling in the fountain. Water gushed from the mountain, arching upward five feet before splashing back into the fountain's basin. They heard a loud creak then something sparkled in the water stream. It hit the fountain's stone with a dull thunk.

Chad blinked. He went to the fountain but the other teen beat him there.

"What's this," the teen asked, holding something up to the light. It was small and shiny, obviously made of metal. It had a square at one end with two prongs sticking out of it. There was a block number two carved into it.

Chad grabbed it, examining it closely, "No way…"

"Hey," the teen protested, his voice squeaking again, "…what is it?"

Chad's face flickered between a wide grin and trying to hide it, "Where does this water come from?"

The brown headed teen returned, "The lake."

Chad's lost control of his face, it broke into a wide, wide grin, "Ooooh, this is going to be fun." He closed his hand around the mystery object and turned to his two companions, "How would you guys like to take a field trip?"

The black headed teen turned to the brown headed one, "Well, Devin?"

Devin shrugged, "Spike?"

Spike grinned, "Let's go for a walk."

* * *

Alex kept his eyes moving quickly from one screen to another if he stopped for too long he felt Circuits gaze. In his mind it was an accusing gaze, begging for freedom. So he kept his eyes moving and his mind off his shame.

What really kept his attention was the blank screen, the one that supposedly didn't show anything. If Circuit was showing it, it was important.

"See anything interesting," Colonel Mason asked as he opened the door.

"Not yet," Alex said dryly, "But I could probably get more accomplished if you stopped barging in every ten minutes."

"I doubt that," Mason replied with more a than a little amusement, "We watched those things for weeks and never found out much. What makes you think _you_ will find something?"

Alex didn't answer. Instead, he leaned a little closer to the screen. After a few long seconds, he grinned, "Because I also spent weeks watching screens like this, except I was watching my team mates battle a mutant criminal for the fate of the future. Which means…" He tapped the screen with his pencil, "I know what to look for."

Mason walked over and leaned down so he could see the screen. It looked the same, just a dark room. "What?"

Alex pointed his pencil at the top left corner of the screen, "This."

Mason squinted and leaned even closer. "I still don't see it."

Alex sighed and put his finger on the screen, right against the edge "_This._"

Mason stared for a few seconds then tiled his head to the side, "It's a beam of light?" Well, it was a single pixel on the screen that was marginally lighter than the rest.

"Yup."

Mason shook his head, "So what? It's not like it's the plans to a secret base, it's a _beam of light_."

Alex conceded that point, "But it's not nothing. And I bet if we watch it long enough, we'll see something important."

Mason had to admire the Rangers patience and persistence, "If you say so kid. I'll go get us some chairs."

* * *

Devin led the way. Or tried to lead the way. Chad quickly learned that Devin was easily distracted and could walk in a circle without realizing it. He tried to let Spike lead then but found he had the same problem.

So Chad had to lead the way even though he had no real idea where he was going. On the positive side, the lake he was heading towards was huge and kind of hard to miss.

They reached the edge of the seemingly endless lake almost an hour after they left the city. Chad couldn't help but smile as he looked out on the rippling waves, it felt so familiar and comforting.

"So, like, what are we looking for, Ranger-man" Devin asked.

Chad scanned the shore line, "The escape pods my friends used to get out of the Aquabase."

"You mean those," Spike asked in his nasally voice, pointing to a sandy beach a hundred yards around the lake.

Chad looked and saw a half dozen submarines sitting half way out of the water. "Yeah, those."

* * *

"We're not going in the Aquabase, are we," Devin asked, feeling nervous as he watched different colored fishes swim by their submerged sub. "'cause I heard it was completely flooded."

Chad shook his head, hands moving quickly over the controls, checking fuel and air supplies. "I don't think it will be flooded where we're going. It's triple reinforced and the safest place on the base."

"Hey," Spike yelled, pointing out the porthole and making both Chad and Devin jump.

Chad dove from the controls to look out the small window, "What?"

Spike beamed at him, "I think I saw a shark!"

Chad sighed, using all his self control to not rub his hand across his face. The sub pitched rapidly with a loud creaking sound and he ran back to the controls. They had hit the Aquabase. "Wonderful," Chad muttered, twisting the control wheel to move the submarine away from the structure. It did so but some of the warning lights on the consol came to life. They were losing air. He took the submarine to a fair distance from the base to get a good look at its condition.

His eyes drooped. The four columns that surrounded the interior of the base all had sizeable holes in them, most of the connecting walkways were gone. The five spaceship domed buildings, including Rescue Ops, had fallen to the bottom of the lake floor, their roofs completely torn off. There were no lights on. He felt his chest contract in sudden realization, there was no way everyone got off of there alive. Whatever had happened to his home had been sudden and violent. His eyes scanned the area on auto-pilot, looking for a particular building. He found it not far from where it should be and in better condition than the rest of the base.

He maneuvered the craft into the docking bay, pressing a few buttons to close the doors to the outside water and drain the chamber. "Ok, you two stay here. I should be back in the next few minutes."

"Oh no," Devin said, "There's no way you're leaving us in this death trap! _You_ brought us down here and _we're_ sticking with you!"

"Just a few minutes!" He turned to get Spike's opinion but found the teen already sprinting down the exit ramp. "Spike!"

Spike skidded to a stop, actually skidding since there were still sizable puddles of water on the floor. "What?"

"Get back here," Chad demanded exiting the submarine himself, "It's dangerous out here! I…think I'm wrong about this place being safe." He gestured to the thick doors leading to the inside of the building, "We don't know what's past there! I might be able to handle it but you two…you'd get taken out within a heartbeat!"

Spike shrugged, "Well, there's only one way to find out." He slapped a red button next to the door, grinning.

The doors creaked, then inched open then stopped. Water rushed in instantly. The brutal surge of water forced its way through the narrow space knocked Spike back, carrying him to the sub.

Chad snarled, forcing his way against the raging torrent, "Get back in the sub and get out of here!"

"We don't know how to drive it," Devin frantically called back, pulling Spike onto the ramp.

"You'll just have to learn," Chad yelled, reaching the doors and forcing the small crack a open even more. "Press the green button to open the doors. But wait until its completely flooded or you can't get out!"

"But," Spike practically screamed, "You'll die!"

Chad grinned a little, "It's only water and I can handle the water." Taking a calm, deep breath, he pulled his weight through the crack then pushed against the current with his powerful feet. He used the separated tiles along the sides of the walls to pull himself away from the strong current until he disappeared from Spike and Devin's sight.

"See," Devin said to Spike, nudging him with his elbow in delight, "I told you they were _all_ badass!"

Spike scowled, "Let's just get out of here."

Devin hesitated, "Um, are you sure he'll be ok?"

It was Spikes turn to grin, "My old man used to tell me stories about the original few teams of Power Rangers and if this one is anything like the others, he'll find some way to survive even though it should be impossible."

Devin glanced one last time at the door where the water was still rushing out the nodded and shut the door. A few minutes later, after accidently setting the self destruct on the sub and then just as accidently turning it off, the wide bay doors opened and water completely filled the room. Chad hadn't come back.

* * *

Alex jumped up, "Look!"

Colonel Mason started awake, "Huh?"

Alex pointed excitedly at the screen they had been watching for the last hour, "_Look!_"

The small pixel of light grew until it covered half of the screen. It illuminated something they had not been able to see before.

Alex's jaw dropped, "_No way._"

Colonel Mason followed suit, "Is that…"

Alex sped to the door and threw it open, "I've got to go!"

Mason followed suit, calling for his men to gather their arms and amass outside.

"What's going on sir," one of the soldiers asked nervously.

Mason frowned, "It's about to get… complicated around here." He looked down at the solder, "How fast can you run, son?"

The soldier smiled in pride, "Fastest man in the army sir."

"Good, I need you and anyone else you think can move quickly to find out where Trevor is and report back to me. Don't let him see you."

The soldier saluted and ran off.

* * *

The little sub broke the surface of the lake, its two occupants now frantic.

"We shouldn't have left, man!" Devin had his face pressed against one of the portholes on the right side of the sub, "We've just killed a _Power Ranger!_"

Spike was watching the other side, "I know! Aw, Uncle Bulk is going to kill me!"

"Wait, wait," Devin said, pointing out his window, "Look!"

Spike ran to that side of the sub and gasped, "What in all things samurai, is that?"

About half way between them and the shore, bubbles were surfacing, a lot of bubbles. In the middle of this disturbance a long, tall black and blue rectangular box rose from the depths and started floating slowly towards the shore.

Wanting to get a better look, Devin found the button that would open the top hatch and pressed it. The pair clambered out and stood on the rocking submarine's slippery roof, watching in confusion and more than a little fear. What new horror was this?

Once the box reached the beach, there was a loud hiss and more water poured from the container. Then, with a dramatic pause after the last wave of water, a bright blue and silver vehicle rolled triumphantly from inside the box. Long and with a giant nozzled cannon on top, the vehicle stopped and a hatched opened on the top.

Chad climbed out and waved at them, "Hey guys, I would like to introduce you to someone! This is the Aqua Rescue Zord! That thing I found was its _key_!"

"That's a _Zord,_" Devin asked in awe.

Spike laughed, repeating Chad's earlier statement, "Ooooh…this is going to get _fun_."

* * *

*AN*

Oh, yeeeeaaaaah… You see the Power Rangers are known for driving these giant mechanical vehicles/animals/robots things that help them fight the monsters when they suddenly grow ten stories tall. I guess Chad found his. It does make one wonder where the rest of them are…

*CL*

Chad Lee – Blue Lightspeed Rescue Ranger

Alex – first Red Time Force Ranger

Colonel Mason – leader of Corinth's self defense force – RPM

Devin – school mate of the Dino Thunder Rangers.

Spike – Skull's son from Samurai. Calls Bulk, Uncle Bulk.

Chad's Zord – Aqua Rescue Zord and the big box is Rail Rescue 2.


	37. Chapter 37: A Day in the Red Candlelight

Chapter 37 – A Day in the Red Candlelight

Yo, homies and homiettes, Tweetybirdalpha here to give you a little in-for-mation so listen tightly and rightly! Ya heard?

*cough and with a normal and _non_-poser(pozer?) tone*

Last chapter, Not Just Action Figures received a very great honor. It was reviewed for the hundredth time!

YAY! I can't thank you all enough for sticking around this long but I'm going to try and make it special! For that purpose I've asked two of my distinguished reviewers to assist me in celebrating this momentous occasion!

This week, **Ghostwriter**, who not only reviewed this story on the very first chapter but has kept it up even now! So to honor this amazing commitment I asked her to create an OC to take part in this chapter's plot. She was kind enough to lend me Jaytron, from her story _'Red Poison'_. But the ideas behind this character made the chapter keep growing longer and longer as I found more and more ideas for happy, happy fun times and explosions. Lots and lots of explosions…

Enjoy!

* * *

Rocks slipped and Jaytron almost lost his grip. He frantically grabbed a nearby tree limb and scrambled back to give his feet something to support his weight. Terrified, he watched the rocks tumble down the shadowy side of the mountain. That could have been him.

Catching his breath and trying to get a handle on his fear, he looked up in awe at his destination, at the giant structure in front of him. The castle. The tall dark grey towers, the pointed iron bars covering the windows. It almost visibly radiated menace and wickedness. Above the wide castle door a very familiar emblem glowered down at him. He had no trouble recognizing the symbol, it had been burned into parks, it had been emblazoned in the clouds, Lord Zedd had even tried to rearrange the stars themselves to resemble his crest. The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers had stopped him, of course, before he could damage too much. Although, the last time he had seen it Orion's belt still only had two stars.

Surprisingly the gates to Lord Zedd and Rita Repulsa's palace were cracked open, just wide enough for him to slip through. He hesitated, his sense of adventure and curiosity wilting in the face of this obviously evil fortress. What if Lord Zedd or Rita or one of their other monsters were still in there? Just waiting for someone to wander inside. The light around the castle seemed to darken the more his bravery turned into fear.

The mountain beneath him rumbled again but this time he was able to hold on as rocks and boulders zipped past him.

His fear of Lord Zedds palace was replaced by fear of being crushed by two ton rocks. He reached up and pulled himself up to the next handhold, he was almost there and he needed to get there before the mountain learned to aim better.

He began to think that Trevor's orders to explore were just an excuse to get him out of the city. He probably shouldn't have made his support of Colonel Mason so obvious. Standing on a soapbox and saying this was what probably pushed him over the edge. He just hoped Ernie stayed out of trouble while he was gone. The guy was skittish at the best of times. Sure, back when they had been working at the Juice Bar, his boss had been all smiles but this new world had driven the poor guy to timidness. He hardly ever left Colonel Mason's little compound anymore and he had been frantic when he heard Trevor order him to discover what all was out here.

He took a deep breath and reached up to grab the next rock, he probably should hurry before his boss lost it or something.

* * *

Inside, something on the walls of the palace glowed dull green with just enough light that Jaytron could see a couple of feet in front of him. He had started getting close to the glowing masses on the walls but when one of them blinked at him, he started pointedly ignoring them.

The ceilings inside were tall and arching, the glowing on the walls casting deep shadows upward. The floor crunched beneath his feet and he was afraid to look down and see what he was stepping on.

The first door he passed was made from a dark black metal and had shining spikes sticking out from it. He kept walking. He passed other doors like that, a few had spikes others didn't. He walked passed them all. The hallway ended in a T. He looked left and saw the same thing he had just walked past. He looked right and saw a bright glimmer of white light at the end of an olive corridor.

He went right.

* * *

The door creaked as Jaytron pushed it open. He carefully peeked his head inside then followed when he didn't see anyone.

The room was made from stone, there was a bright lantern hanging from the curved ceiling lighting it. The floor dropped off on one side into a deep pit he couldn't see the bottom of, smoke or fog billowing at the top. A table in the far corner had six candles of varying heights. The green one seemed almost completely used up, only a small snub remained. The pink, yellow, black and blue ones were not much better. The red one though, sitting primly in the middle, seemed unused.

Jaytron crossed the room to the table, keeping his distance from the pit. The five used candles he ignored but he studied the tall red one. He didn't see anything wrong with it, didn't see any dark magic glowing from it, didn't see any razor thin wires waiting to spring a trap. But he decided that he wasn't going to take any chances. He started to walk away when the glowing from the walls and the lantern's light vanishing. Then the candle behind him burst into life, flame suddenly flickering on its wick.

Jaytron didn't turn, he ran to the door but as he reached for the handle, he felt something move behind him. He ducked on instinct, falling clumsily to the ground.

Something _breathed_ behind him, rustling the hairs on the back of his neck.

Terrified he turned.

A long, tall outline rose from the light thrown from the red candle. It floated a foot off the floor, a dark mass of shadows. Two narrow slits opened in the shadow near him, intense red eyes glaring at him.

The fog floating over the pit condensed and a shape formed, rising from the pit. Lord Zedd leered at the center of the room, unseeing but malicious. "Foolish humans," the recording said gleefully, "You're pathetic attempts to steal back your candles will end in your own destruction!" Lord Zedd laughed manically. "It is your own weaknesses that have doomed your world, doomed the very people you have sworn to protect! I have poisoned the candles with my own power, infusing them with all of your own negative feelings. Your jealousies, your anger, your fears, all of them turned against you." He laughed again, "You! are all! doooooomed! And it is by your hand that this doom will be brought about!" Lord Zedd cackled loudly again and hatred enveloped Jaytron. Hatred and frustration and boundless fury.

Jaytrons mouth peeled back on its own accord, his teeth clinched and his fists balled up.

The shadow surged forward, wrapping itself around him. It started soaking into his skin, burning sharply like acid.

Jaytron screamed.

* * *

Jaytron stepped out into the bright afternoon sun and the world trembled. The mountain rumbled again beneath him, quaking in terror of this new creature that glared up at the bright sun. His shining red eyes narrowed as he saw the way the sun's light glinted playfully off his reddened skin. His jeans and shirt had turned into a warped version of the Mighty Morphin Power Ranger's suit. The suit was deep red, far darker than his skin, the normally white triangles were light consuming black and had been twisted to the sides. His arms were bulging with newly acquired muscle and he stood at least an extra foot taller.

He casually walked to the edge of the very ledge he had had so much trouble climbing this morning and leaped off. He fell through the air for almost a full minute before landing with a ground shattering slam.

He observed the inch wide cracks in the stone with dark amusement. Oh, the power he now had. He clinched a thick fist, this world would fall to him and it would be _glorious_!

His eyes flickered to the other building sitting down the mountain from his castle, it was a tall, walled structure the color of sparkling sand, with a wide pipe-like spiral growing from its center. He considered briefly flattening it in well deserved revenge. His anger flared as he thought of all the times the Mighty Morphin Rangers had stopped him. His anger flared as he thought of all the times Lord Zedd had tried to destroy the Rangers and his town. He didn't notice the contradiction of being angry both at the Rangers and Lord Zedd, of being protective of both the Rangers and Lord Zedd.

He started walking towards the Command Center, his anger and rage multiplying with each step. White hot flame began leaking from his feet, melting his footprints into the rocks.

Jaytron's shoulder itched. He reached up to scratch it when the itch turned into sharp pain. Hissing in fury, he slammed his shoulder against the hard rock, trying to make it go away. It didn't help and the pain flared.

He started desperately climbing the mountain again, thinking this was some side effect of his newfound power. Maybe if he went back to his palace he could find some way to destroy this insolent pain. He climbed to his castle but he kept going, enjoying the slow burn from his muscles from the effort, pushing the pain to the side. He climbed and he climbed. Finally he stood on the very summit of the mountain, panting, his burned red skin practically glowing.

He looked around at the world beneath him, as it should be. Behind him on the mountain lay his castle and, of course, the Rangers Command Center that he would very soon destroy. Directly below was the scattered remains of the once proud Starship Terra Venture, it's domes shattered and it's people gone. Off to his left in the distance was the strange collection of buildings that he had, in his mere mortal days, lived and crawled in. They would need to be made aware of his presence so that they could properly fear and obey him. There was a lake off on the horizon with a multi leveled temple just visible from this height in the forest on the far shore.

All of these sights he had known about, being somewhat of an forced explorer, but in the middle of these sights was something new.

A large ball of glowing white hung above the tree tops. His pain, now returning as his rapidly healing body dulled the ache of his muscles, pulsed in time with the light.

His glowing eyes narrowed. That was the source of the pain. It mocked him with its mere existence, it defied him by causing his perfect form to twinge. He should destroy it from here.

He fully gathered his power for the first time, collecting it and shaping it into a form he could use. A deadly bolt of lightning began to grow, it's jagged edges humming with dark power. Once he deemed it powerful enough, he hoisted it in one hand and closed one bright red eye, aiming at the far white ball.

But just as he was going to set it loose, the ball of white flared and seven figures dropped from the sky. The ball vanished and so did the pain in his shoulder.

Intrigued Jaytron let the dark bolt vanish and he took a few steps back before flinging himself once again from the mountain. He fell for minutes this time and landed almost at the edge of what remained of Terra Venture.

He picked his ways through the tall ruins, quickly but carefully. He may be all powerful now but he still remembered the knife sharp pain of digging the graves for all these brave men and women. He would have the citizens build a monument to them, he decided after reaching the edge, one he could then destroy if the townspeople gave him too much trouble.

He ran easily and quickly through the thick trees and he reached the sight in minutes. He slowed and stalked quietly the rest of the way, keeping his eyes open and his ears listening. He caught the first sound not long after.

"Blue and Blue," a loud, confident voice shouted, "spread out and scout for enemies!"

Jaytron stopped, hiding behind a tree. Whoever they were, they were already looking for people to fight. He savored the idea of a fight with his awesome new powers. He feared the idea of a fight with his terrifying new powers.

A quieter voice replied but even his ears couldn't catch what was said. Then someone chuckled and Jaytron's blood froze and he was overwhelmed with hatred and anger. He threw caution to the wind and moved even closer, close enough to see who had made him so furious.

The first one he saw was a woman with dirty blonde hair wearing a unfamiliar yellow suit. Then he saw a shorter man wearing glasses and a suit he recognized. It was the blue Mighty Morphin Ranger! Thrilled, he stared, feeling giddy with excitment. He had always looked up to the Mighty Morphin Rangers and he felt, even in his newly powered state, a sense of relief that he was here.

His eyes moved on of their own accord and Jaytron's excitement vanished replaced, again, with raw hatred and fury. He studied the guy with long brown hair wearing the red Power Rangers Suit, his mouth twisted in dislike.

He wanted to leap forward and tear the man apart. He want to leap forward and grab the Blue Mighty Morphin one in a hug. He wanted to throw all of his power at the group and laugh as they burned. He wanted to throw all of his power away and meet the group as friends. He felt hatred, he felt friendship, he felt anger, he felt joy.

His mind spun and he could no longer stand it. He turned and sprinted from the scene, confused and upset.

He was all powerful. So why did it hurt to want to hurt them? Why did he suddenly know the Blue Mighty Morphin's name? Why did the Red guy he hated so much seem so familiar? Why were there Power Rangers here? Why? _Why?_

* * *

Chad Lee rode his Zord into town like he was expecting a parade. People were surprised to be sure but they weren't cheering as the Aqua Rescue Zord rolled down the wide main street. One of Chad's new friends stuck his head into the open hatch.

"Uh, dude," Devin said nervously, "They aren't looking too happy."

Chad smiled thinly, he was regretting letting them talk him into this, "Yeah, I'm noticing that too. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea."

"Oh, come on," Spike said, happily oblivious, waving cheerfully at the murmuring crowds, "I've always wanted to do this!"

The crowds parted in front of the rolling blue water tanker until they reached the center of the city, where the Ring was hidden between the five tall buildings. Chad hopped out of his Zord, admiring it briefly before glancing down at the four Rangers standing at its base. Each one of them were wearing a different expression, Tommy looked a little bit annoyed, Summer was shaking her head, Vida was smiling excitedly, Mac was laughing while Billy looked like he was doing everything he could do not to rush the Zord and take it apart.

Chad jumped off, landing easily on the ground, "Hiya."

Tommy pressed his hand against his forehead, "Chad, what are you doing?"

"Um, I found my Zord," Chad answered sheepishly.

"Yeah, we can see that. And… what was your plan when you decided to bring one of the most powerful weapons in our arsenal into the middle of the city who's citizens do not really hold us into the highest regard right now? Did you realize that…"

"Rangers," a angry voice screamed from the top of one of the tall buildings.

Tommy's hand pressed harder against his skull, "Aaaannnnnd there he is."

Trevor leapt down from the building, a glowing white sword held high over his head.

Chad had to spring out of the way to avoid being cut in half, "Hey!"

Trevor's face was twisted in fury, "I _knew_ it! You cannot be trusted! You want to take over the city!"

"What?"

Trevor charged at Chad again, "I knew it! I should have sent you through the instant your ugly faces showed up!"

"Listen, Trevor," Vida yelled, "We don't want to hurt anyone!"

"Liar," Trevor yelled, reversing course to charge at her. "You went straight for your Zords!"

"We didn't know they were there," Mac added knocking into Trevor so that his swing missed Vida. "It was an accident, right _Chad_?"

"Yyyes," Chad yammered. "I found the key in one of the fountains and went looking in one of the lakes!"

"Trevor," Daggeron said, walking up, "calm down. I am sure that it truly was an accident. None of these Rangers have proven themselves a threat and, while a Zord is powerful, if the Blue Lightspeed Rescue Ranger had wanted to take over, he would have done so already instead of exiting his vehicle and letting you attempt to kill him."

Trevor, who was now grappling with Tommy, glanced over, "But Daggeron…" Daggeron crossed his arms, leveling a hard look at him, and Trevor sighed, dropping his arms.

Daggeron turned his heated eyes towards Chad, "Now please, Blue Lightspeed Rescue Ranger, explain exactly how you came across your Zord."

Chad started to explain about the fountain when Hayley and Angela appeared from nowhere and started excitedly examining his Zord.

"Look at this, Angela," Hayley exclaimed pointing to something that looked like an ordinary wheel, "They used nanoscopic polycarbonate weaves for the tire treads!"

Billy, having decided that if they could do it, so could he, ran forward and started joining in her rant, the two engaging in a conversation so in depth, the Ranger's couldn't understand even every other word.

Angela, however, was finding the machine difficult to look at. "I've…I've seen this before, haven't I?" She turned to Chad, "Haven't I?"

Chad nodded slowly, "Yes Ang…Miss Fairweather, you kind of help design them."

Angela nodded, "It all sounds familiar but I can't seem to remember it." She sighed, "Isn't amnesia annoying?"

Chad grinned, "So I've heard, ma'am." He hesitated then decided to just go ahead and ask, "Miss Fairwearther, do you remember Joel?"

Angela's eye's widened, "…J…"

A building directly to their right exploded in a towering ball of flame. The force of it knocked everyone to the ground and rocked the Aqua Rescue Zord on its axel.

The first to recover, Trevor sprang to his feet and started shouting orders. Men and women started helping their companions out of the area. Being somewhat used to such occurrences, most people fled the immediate area, swarming around the Rangers towards the far side of the city. He turned to Trevor, his face drawn and angry, "Well, Ranger, does that big fire truck of yours work or not? _Do something_!"

Chad started to correct him that _his_ Zord wasn't a fire truck when he realized that this wasn't the time. He sprang back into his Zord and powered it up. Water poured from the tanker truck, covering the entire building in its powerful blast. It took ten minutes before the intense flames were under control, the entire time, the Rangers on the ground were tense, scanning every skyline for the source of the attack.

It appeared just when the last flickering flame died down.

"Oh, oh no," Tommy said, taking an involuntary step back.

Billy's eyes widened in shock, "It…It can't be."

Trevor just stared straight up at the sky, he should have just sent them through when they arrived. Power Rangers always brought trouble.

"What is that," Summer hissed to Vida as the towering figure stomped closer.

Vida who shrugged, "I don't know, I've never seen it in my life." She looked at it with an appraising eye, "It looks pretty cool though. What is that, a dinosaur?"

"That," Billy squeaked, "that would be the Tyrannosaurus Zord."

"Isn't that one of yours," Mac asked, feeling the dread of the group spike at the comment.

"Yep," Tommy answered.

Mac gravely considered this, "Ok, then why is it looking at us like we're lunch?"

* * *

Jaytron piloted the Tyrannosaurus Zord like he had done it his entire life. And he almost felt like he had. Every move he made was quick and purposeful. He understood who he was now, he understood the source of his power, and why the sight of that particular Ranger filled him with so much rage. Tommy had replaced him. _No, not him,_ he reminded himself, _Jason. Tommy had replaced Jason._ Jaytron found it difficult to separate his thoughts from Jason's and, sometimes even more frightening, Lord Zedd's. But right now he didn't care if it was Jason's resentment or Lord Zedd's all encompassing rage that fueled his desire to crush the tiny figures under his giant Zord, he just wanted it done.

Once Tommy was gone he could calm down enough to try and find a way to separate his thoughts and decide his course of action from there.

Ernie squeaked from the small area behind his chair, "You said you weren't going to hurt them! You said you were going to rescue them from Trevor!"

"I am," Jaytron growled, "I will. I might." He sighed, suddenly tired, "I'll figure it out later Ernie. Just trust me, ok?"

"But," Ernie began as he saw another building turn into rubble under the Zord's feet, "you're hurting them…"

Jaytron struggled with the thought again. Hurting them? He didn't want to hurt them. He wanted to help them. Save them. He want to…. His skin pulsed and his thoughts cleared again. "I'm going to kill the Ernie. Then they won't hurt any more."

* * *

The Tyrannosaururs's hatch opened and a imposing figure stepped into sight. He glowered down at the Ranges who felt it almost like a physical force, "Rangers! I am Jaytron, the terrible product of Lord Zedd's power and Jason's resentment! I will destroy you Tommy Oliver for daring to take my…his…our…." He grabbed his head between hands and screamed, falling back into the Tyrannosaurus Zord. A few seconds later it started attacking the nearest building.

Their surprise and panic now gone, the Rangers kicked into hero mode.

"Chad," Tommy called, "Do what you can to slow him down!"

"Why," his voice asked, being projected from a speaker on the outside of the Zord, "What are you going to do?"

Tommy looked up at the towering Zord piloted by an obviously crazy person, "Find some reinforcements."

As if on cue, Colonel Mason's troops appeared in mass, their high tech weapons aimed at the attacking Zord but not firing.

Colonel Mason himself appeared moments later, "Am I to assume that that Zord is our enemy?"

Tommy hesitated, "Not generally but now, yes."

"Understood." He raised his voice, "Fire!"

Bolts of multicolored light rained from the assembled soldiers. Corinth's soldiers stood shoulder to shoulder with Silver Guardians, Terra Venture guards, Lightspeed Rescue soldiers, assorted SPD guards and police officers from various worlds who still defended the people.

The Tyrannosaurus Zord roared in defiance of the assault. It swung its tail around, demolishing buildings and making those in its way flee.

The Aqua Rescue Zord fired powerful blasts of concentrated water, knocking the Tyrannosaurus Zord back slightly and letting the soldiers resume their attack but the Tyrannosaurus Zord quickly regained the upper hand by leaping forward and landing directly on top of the Aqua Rescue Zord, rendering it useless.

Without warning Time Flyer 1 roared past the Tyrannosaurus Zord, lasers striking the Zord with a bright explosion on impact. The sheer sound of the jet's passing made everyone on the ground shield their ears against the painful noise.

The Tyrannosaurus Zord was knocked off Chad's Zord which was able to quickly drive away, only moderately damaged. The Tyrannosaurus Zord turned its attention to the Time Flyer, batting at it like it was a fly. It roared in anger, almost hitting it with a well times swing.

Just as the two Zords coordinated, timing their attacks just enough that the Tyrannosaurus Zord was forced back, another challenger appeared, briefly seeming stunned before roaring at the Zords and attacking. The new monster took on the Aqua Rescue Zord kicking it's away from the Tyrannosaurus Zord. It's red eyes glowed and the Tyrannosaurus's eyes answered with a similar colored glow.

Seemingly unfazed by the appearance of the Nighlok, Colonel Mason walked over to Summer, "You might need this." He pressed something in his hand them moved away to continue organizing his men.

Summer looked down and grinned. "I may not be able to morph," she gloated, "But that doesn't mean I'm out of the game!" She held up the yellow engine cell, "It's recharged and ready to go! Bear Crawler!" A bright yellow monster truck shaped like a bears head and with big googely eyes appeared where she had been standing. Summer cheered, "Let's get in gear!" She drove her Zord at the Tyrannosaurus Zord, it's cute mouth opening and closing.

Vida felt left out. She shrugged, if the others could find their Zords, why couldn't she summon hers? She closed her eyes and concentrated. Her magic, like the rest of the Mystic Rangers, had stayed with them even when they were just toys. Surely….yes, there! She felt the small spark and smiled, "Mystic Sprite!" A pink suit of armor formed over Vida, making her taller but not towering. Her Zord was about even with a three story building, short for a Zord but gigantic for anyone else. She leaped into the air, "Yes!" She flew at the Nighlok, "Take this squidy!"

The four Zords were holding their own against the monster and the stolen Zord but they couldn't seem to press an attack to gain any advantage.

Trevor took a deep breath and walked over to Tommy. "I bet you want to help," he asked roughly.

Tommy watched his friends fight when he was powerless to help them. It reminded him painfully of when his Green Ranger powers ran out and he had to sit on the sidelines. He hated it. "More than anything."

He scowled then muttered something to himself. With a supreme force of will, he pressed something into Tommy's hands, "It's the red button." He quickly walked away, uncomfortable with the helpful act.

Tommy glanced down at the set of keys and narrowed his eyes. _No..._ He pressed the red button on the center of the key and waited. He heard the loud roar of an engine and, on instinct alone, leapt into the air. The Red Lightning Turbo Zord sped past, Tommy landing effortlessly in the drivers seat. The top slid closed over him and the lights inside the car beeped in happy recognition. Tommy patted the steering wheel fondly, "Hello, old friend. Did the mean old man treat you ok?" He took a second to look out the window then screamed in rage, "_He painted you white?_"

The Tyrannosaurus Zord roared again, reeling under the blasts from the Time Flyer and Bear Crawler. The Red Lightning Zord sped towards it, hitting it just as it took a step. It lost its balance and tumbled to the ground, taking a row of buildings out with it.

The Nighlok stormed over to its new found friend and helped it up. The Tyrannosaurus' eyes glowed red again and the Nighlok began to melt. It oozed over the Tyrannosaurus Zord, covering the patches of silver with sparkling black. It also grew even larger, now towering even further over the Zords. It tried to step on the Aqua Rescue Zord but the Time Flyer was able to distract it long enough for the Aqua Rescue Zord to get out of the way.

The newly grown Nighlok-Tyrannosaurus Zord, stormed through the buildings, demolishing everything in its paths.

"We have to do something," Summer yelled, knowing no one could hear her.

"Like we don't know that," Tommy muttered, answering her.

Summer started, steering her Bear Crawler through a narrow alleyway, "You guys can hear me?"

"That's our fault," Hayley said, surprising everyone. "Angela, Billy, Mac, Daggeron and I are in the basement of the Overdrive Mansion. We're working on something pretty cool. This is just step one."

Chad dodged the rampaging monster, "And when can we expect step two?"

Billy came on the radio, "Give us a few minutes, this is not simple calculus!"

"No one else thinks calculus is simple, Billy" Vida snorted, spinning through the air to hit the twisted Zord, sparks flying. She landed gently on the Time Flyer, surfing on it through the air. They swung around again and hit the monster Zord again causing a small explosion.

"Would you get off my Zord," Alex yelled. "This is very undignified!"

"Oh come on," Vida said, laughing. "This is fun."

Alex growled, doing a barrel roll and making Vida fall through the air. She landed on the monster Zord's shoulder. She tapped it's head, "Helloooo ugly!"

The Tyrannosaurus's head swiveled and it's red eyes glowed ominously. Lightning fell from the sky, missing Vida by a inch. The electricity threw Vida from the Zord, Alex caught her before she hit the ground.

"Don't say a word," Alex growled.

Lightning continued to fall, striking the Aqua Rescue Zord and sending most of its systems off line. Chad frantically tried to get his Zord moving again as the lightning continued to strike his vehicle.

Seeing that Chad was in trouble, Tommy did a smoky u-turn, his tires squealing. He slammed into the Aqua Rescue Zord, jolting it forward. Chad's systems came flickering on.

"Thanks Tommy," Chad said, pulling his Zord out of danger.

"Are you almost finished," Summer yelled, her Zord having clamped onto the monster-Zord's leg. The monster-Zord tried to shake her off and it was making her sea sick, "This is _not_ fun."

"Almost done," Angela said, "A few more minutes, it's not easy mixing technology, magic and guesses!"

"You've got _four_ geniuses," Alex complained, "work it out!"

The monster-Zord threw Summer, her Zord landed on its side. "Wonderful…" She pressed a few buttons and sharply twisted the steering wheel, "Let's see how you like this!" The side of Bear Crawler that was sitting on the ground sprang up, the doors having pushed it up. It settled back on its axis and Summer cheered.

The lightning stopped striking and the five Zords regrouped in front of the roaring Monster-Tyrannosaurus Zord, Vida still using the Time Flyer like a surfboard.

"Anyone got a bright idea," Tommy asked.

"Not the planning type," Vida replied.

"Me either," Summer agreed.

"Nope," Chad chimed in.

Alex was silent for a long time then reluctantly agreed, "I don't have any clue how to use these five strange Zords to beat that thing."

"Luckily," Mac's voice said over the radio, "we do!"

The five Zords began to glow, they lifted off the ground.

"What's going on," Summer asked as her Bear Crawler's mouth opened up and its tires slid to the side.

"They didn't," Chad said as his Aqua Rescue Zord split in half, it's aqua jet sliding backwards.

"Oh, they did," Alex said as his Time Flyer folded in on itself.

"What are we going to call it," Vida asked as her Mystic Sprite began to grow larger, it's arms spreading to the sides.

"We can name it later," Tommy said as his Red Lightning split in half, it's tires sliding to the top. "Let's see what she looks like first…"

The five Zords fit together like the pieces of a very strange puzzle and once the light dimmed, a tall, new and proud Megazord stood to face it's foe.

The five Rangers stood in awe in a central console room, it's interior a mixture of their colors, their stations attuned to their individual tastes. Summer, Chad and Tommy, all Rangers used to vehicles, sat in drivers seats to the sides and middle of the room while Alex sat in a similar pilots seat at the front. Vida, used to using her own body as a controller, stood in front a single column with bars of light surrounding her, each light corresponding to a command.

The outside of the Zord was a bizarre sight, Vida's Mystic Sprite formed the center of the Zord, it's shape obvious and it's magical systems powering the machine. Alex's Time Flyer made the right arm, a hand growing out of its split wings. Tommy's Red Lightning made up the left arm, it's four tires lining the outside, a hand growing out of it. The white paint had been stripped off, leaving only the bright red paint behind. Chad's Aqua Rescue Zord made up the two legs, feet growing from the halved centers. Summer's Bear Crawler formed the head, its head pulled back over a mechanical head, like the hood of a jacket.

"We call it," Hayley said smugly, "the Mish-Mash Megazord."

"But it won't last long," Daggeron's voice warned, "The Sprite's magic will not last forever."

"Take care of it quickly," Mac agreed.

"But don't kill it," Billy pleaded, "it's not the Tyrannosaurus's fault!"

"We'll do what we have to, Billy," Tommy said grimly, "Jason would understand."

The Mish-Mash Megazord took its first tottering steps forward, guided by Chad. "Well," Chad said through gritted teeth, "This is new."

"Careful Chad," Alex admonished, "I don't think falling on him would hurt him too much."

Chad turned to glare at Alex but this sent the Megazord crashing into a building.

Tommy and Alex had to work together to get the Megazord back to its feet.

The Monster-Tyrannosaurus Zord looked at them like it was laughing, it's claws clutching it's mutated chest.

"Not cool," Vida said. "What kind of weapons do we have on this thing?"

Summer looked at a few keys next to her steering wheel, "Well, this one is labeled 'Bear Beams'?"

"Try it!"

Summer pressed it and bright yellow beams shot from her bears' eyes, hitting the Monster-Tyrannosaururs square in its chest. It stopped laughing and its eyes started glowing again.

"Incoming lightning," Tommy warned.

"On it," Alex said, raising his arm of the Megazords head. A bright bolt of lightning struck the time ship and fizzled.

"Good job," Chad complimented.

"Always."

"Billy," Tommy said, "What do you have for us?"

"Chad," Billy's voice said, "press the big blue button on your console while Tommy presses the big red one on his."

The two Rangers did so and their Megazord shot forward, rockets shooting from its feet and its left hand clutched into a fist. It slammed brutally into the Tyrannosaurus Zord, tossing it into the distance where something exploded.

"Wow," Summer said, impressed, "That was _cool_."

"Hurry," Daggeron's voice urged, "The Sprite is about to run out of magic."

"Ok," Angela's voice said, "Summer, press the big yellow button while Vida pressed the pink one and Chad, you make sure to keep those legs moving!"

Chad move the Megazord forward and, once they were close enough, Summer and Vida pressed the corresponding buttons. The center and head of the Megazord began to glow, a intense stream of pure white light scattering from it, enveloping the mutated Tyrannosaurus Zord then exploding.

* * *

Ernie dragged Jaytron out from the smoking Tyrannosaurus Zord. It was difficult now that his one time employee was a hulking mass of muscle and variations on the color red.

The poor kid had been possessed, he was sure of it. Something to do with Zedd or Rita, Jason, who was apparently the Red Mighty Morphin Ranger and Tommy, who was also the White Mighty Morphin Ranger. He didn't even try to understand it, his life was complicated enough without adding understanding magic curses to the mix.

The strange looking Megazord had burned the infecting monster right off the Tyrannosaurus Zord and the poor Zord had just collapsed.

He sighed and looked down at Jaytron, poor kid. He just hoped the Rangers could help him.

* * *

Jaytron opened his eyes and instantly shut them, that light was bright. He then became aware of all the other aches and pains his body was feeling. He nearly passed out again from the shock.

"It's all right," a calm voice said, "Don't try to move, you were very hurt."

"What…what happened," he managed to mutter.

"You went inside Zedds castle and got caught in a trap meant for one of us," another voice said.

Jaytron opened his eyes to see the Blue Mighty Morphin Ranger looking kindly down at him. Memories came rushing back, memories of a tall red candle. He groaned as the rest of the day came back to him, "I didn't…did I?"

"You did," the first voice said.

He looked over and saw five other Rangers standing against the wall, all looking at him. The speaker was a woman wearing a unfamiliar yellow Power Ranger suit. He blushed, "I am so, so sorry."

"That's ok," a Power Rangers wearing blue said, "happens all the time. You're just lucky we have real live magicians on hand who know about these kinds of things. But even they had some trouble getting _that_ thing out of you." He nodded to other side of the room.

Jaytron looked and saw the same red candle as before, a dark shadow hovering over it. He screamed and tried to get away but the Blue Mighty Morphin Ranger pushed him back down.

"It's ok," he said, "it's contained and we'll make sure that Lord Zedd's twisted magic candles never possesses anyone ever again. We promise."

Outside the room Trevor watched the sickening scene with a mixture of irritation and understanding. The Rangers were heroes again. The weary citizens of the town were already starting to rebuild but they were doing it with a lighter step. The Power Rangers had saved them again, just like old times.

He turned and left the hospital without ever going in the room. Maybe the Rangers weren't so bad after all. Maybe the people had never really needed him. Well, once his plan was finished and the real evil behind all this was gone, he would have to just let them decide. Him, or the Power Rangers.

A quiet voice in his head hissed, _'They won't pick you.'_

* * *

*AN*

Whoo! That was a long, long, _long_ one! That could have been two or three separate chapters! Sorry if it was too long but I may actually be adding on to the Zord fight once my brain stops melting from overuse. If I do update, I'll make sure and say so up at the top. This was just too much fun to write:)!

The chapter title is a combination of the phrase 'A Day in the Limelight' and a variation on the title 'Green Candle', a Mighty Morphin episode that heavily factored into this chapter.

Thanks again for sticking through this entire time! Part two of the 100 review celebration continues next chapter too!

*CL*

Jaytron - OC belonging to Ghostwriter from his story _'Red Poison'_

Billy Cranston - Mighty Morphin Blue

Tommy Oliver – Red Turbo

Chad Lee – Blue Lightspeed Rescue

Alex Drake – original Red Time Force

Vida Rocca – Pink Mystic Force

Mack Hartford – Red Operation Overdrive

Summer Landsdown – Yellow RPM

Trevor - White Dino Ranger Clone

Ernie - Owner of the Juice Bar - Mighty Morphin

Colonel Mason - Commander of Mish Mash Security Forces - RPM

Zords:

Bear Crawler - Summer

Time Flyer 1 - Alex

Aqua Rescue - Chad

Red Lightning - Tommy

Mystic Sprite - Vida

Tyrannosaurus - Originally Jason's Zord - Might Morphin


	38. Chapter 38: Unexpected Teamwork

Chapter 38 – Unexpected Teamwork

* * *

As part two of the one hundred review celebration, this chapter is dedicated to Michelle The Editor who is the one hundredth reviewer for Not Just Action Figures! YAY! Michelle was kind enough to write almost a third of the chapter which she requested out of all of the plotlines currently being woven together.

I'd just like to again reiterate my gratitude for everyone sticking around this long and supporting my attempt at fiction. I hope I meet your expectations:)!

* * *

It was a strange scene to be sure, one that had rarely if ever been seen in the light of the bright setting sun. On the desk near the window, seven multi-colored action figures stood surrounded by similarly sized characters. The seven bright ones were standing slightly behind the others, grouped together and palpably tense. Even more of these strange shapes stood on the floor surrounding the desk, each one wearing a different expression of shock or horror or fear. The object of these stares towered over them, the size of a normal adult human. All of these had been snatched from their normal habitats, their worlds and universes and brought here to this one for reasons and by powers unknown. Most of the time these creatures got along fairly well, being of the good sort, but today was a special day. Today, as the sun set behind them, on the day that in other worlds had already seen Zords fighting Zords and the powerful Sword of Light changing hands multiple times, a newly born computer virus fully grasped its newly acquired powers. And the world shuttered.

The computer virus grew towards the ceiling, it's shifting metal body stretching in all three directions. The metal settled into one of the virus's metal bodies, it's shiny silver foot poised over the unmoving figures below. The tall figure sneered down at the assembled masses, "I am Venjix and _you will bow to me! _This world will burn and a new world shall rise. _My world!_"

These haughty words, so commonly uttered among the would be dictators in the universes, snapped the plastic toys into action. The seven evil Rangers leapt from the desk as the mix of characters from other worlds rushed bravely towards the giant.

"This way," Charlie called to her companions as they weaved in and out of the crowd. "Head for the door then down the stairs and outside! Regroup across the street!"

The A-Squad Rangers did so without hesitation but the two Psycho Rangers glared at her. They still hadn't forgotten that she had tricked them into getting used for target practice. "Why should we," Psycho Blue asked with a snarl.

"Yeah," Psycho Pink said, "why should we trust you? Again?"

Charlie gave them her best command glare, "Because you don't want to be inside this house when Venjix decides he's finished playing with the toys!"

Psycho Blue and Pink exchanged a glance then looked back up at Venjix who was easily batting off the swarm of action figures that were trying to knock him down. Venjix's fingers shifted from normal five fingered ones into long, sharp, metal ones. They easily sliced through the action figures. One of the X-Men fell to the ground in multiple pieces. The fighting stopped for a brief moment as the plastic figures stared at their fallen comrade in shock, Gambit's teammates rushed to his side and carried him away. The battle then resumed, it now held a desperate edge to it. The action figures were fighting for their very lives.

The two Psycho Rangers balked. "We're not afraid of _him_," they said in unison, their words faltering to show that they were lying.

Charlie gritted her teeth in irritation. Psycho Red would be annoyed at her if she lost two of his people. She decided that she didn't care, with Venjix like this, Psycho Red could go take a flying leap for all she cared. "Whatever. WE are going outside," she said, speaking slowly as if to young children, "and YOU can stay here and DIE." She sprinted off, leaving the two Psychos to ponder their fate.

"Aw, forget them," Psycho Blue said. He turned back to Venjix, "That tin can could be the ultimate battle!"

"I don't know," Psycho Pink said, showing an unusual concern for her own safety. "He looks like he can back up his talk."

Psycho Blue glared at her, "Are you scared, Pinky?"

Psycho Pink returned the glare at twice the power, "Never!"

Psycho Blue grinned, "Then let's have some fun."

Behind them, the battle worsened.

Venjix crowed, "You are pathetic and I am still superior!" His bladed fingers swept through the crowds of toys, not hitting very many but causing massive damage when they did hit. "Surrender now and I will be merciful!"

"Not on your life," Mal's tiny figure yelled up at him, small pistols booming, "We ain't never surrendered and we aren't going to start now!"

"That's not technically true, sir," Zoe muttered at his side, "We've surrendered at least three times."

Mal glared at her, "Those don't count."

"Doctor, do something!" Donna yelled, leaping back just in time. Venjix's foot came down with a slam, though slowly enough to give most of the toys time to escape the blow. There was a crunch, and Wolverine rolled away from the stomp, clutching the stump of his right leg. Within a few seconds, it had grown back, and he leaped onto Venjix's foot as it rose back into the air.

"I'm trying!" The Ninth, Tenth and Eleventh Doctors shouted back. They were busily sonicing proton packs, lightsabers, pretty much any energy weapon they could get their hands on. Nine handled most of the weapons gingerly—he was still uncomfortable with guns.

"You're sure crossing the streams is a good idea?" Peter Venkman asked, again.

"Worked for the last giant you fought, didn't it?" Ten said, glancing up at him.

"Sure, but it wasn't what we were trying to do at the time, and it also made the top of the building explode," he said.

"You may want to hurry up, sweetie!" River Song called, firing her disintegrator pistol at the giant robot. River Tam was following her example. One lucky shot managed to crack one of Venjix's eyes.

"Don't worry, we should be able to direct any residual energy into Venjix," Ten said, and flicked off his sonic screwdriver.

"Okay, but a 'will' would be better," Ray Stantz added. The thud from Venjix's next blow shook the room. A bookshelf tumbled down with a deafening crash.

There was a shout from high above the fight, and Venjix looked up just in time to see Psycho Blue let go of the curtain rod and drop down on his face. The evil Ranger clung to his eyes, swinging sideways as the giant robot swung at him.

Storm, eyes glowing white, floated into the air, and the nearly-set sun began to darken.

Over the racket, one screechy chorus rose. "Ex-ter-min-ate! Ex-ter-min-ate!"

Daleks of various colors and types lifted into the air, firing their gunsticks at Venjix. With an angry roar, Venjix swung around and swatted three out of the air. They bounced off the desk, breaking gunsticks and eyestalks at the impact. The others stepped up their attack.

"I never thought I'd be saying this, but go Daleks!" Martha shouted.

Psycho Pink grabbed Anakin Skywalker by the elbow, ripped his lightsaber out of his grasp and leaped towards Venjix. She caught a hold of the giant robot's ankle and began trying to slice through his metal leg. The other Jedi charged after her, and Venjix swung his other leg at them. It halted in midair, just above Yoda. Venjix tried to break free of the Jedi Master's Force grasp, but couldn't.

"Ready?" Nine asked, finishing with Egon's proton pack.

"Not really, but we can't get any readier so let's give it a go," Eleven said. The four Ghostbusters lined up, the three Doctors standing behind them, and Venjix swung around to face them. He tried to punch them, but a well-timed volley from the crew of the Moya made him draw back.

"Grab your stick!" Peter shouted. The four drew their handsets. There was a crack of lightning, and thunder rumbled outside.

"Holdin'!" The Ghostbusters yelled. Venjix finally managed to swat Psycho Blue off, and the evil Ranger fell to the desk. Wind whistled through the dozens of holes in his body, slowing his fall. He bounced off the carpet and rolled. With a shriek of fury, Psycho Pink slashed at Venjix's leg, but could only cut through his outer hull.

"Allons-y!" Ten exclaimed, as the four Ghostbusters fired up their proton packs. Venjix finally managed to break Yoda's Force hold, and kicked the Jedi into a bookshelf.

"Geronimo!" Eleven replied, with a huge grin.

Nine rolled his eyes, not really wanting to say his catchphrase but knowing he would catch grief later if he didn't, "Fan-tastic."

"Just throw it!" The Ghostbusters shouted, and fired. The wobbly golden energy slammed into Venjix's chest, and he staggered. The Daleks flew out of the way and kept blasting. Egon managed to cross Peter's stream, and the jolt sent him staggering back several paces.

"We're holding!" Ten shouted. "Keep it up!" The giant robot stumbled. An explosion tore through his chest armor, and there were triumphant shouts from the scattered action figures.

A bolt of lightning shattered the window and slammed into Venjix. Psycho Pink dropped off him with a loud shriek. The giant robot swerved around and hit the wall, denting it and showering the action figures in plaster and shreds of posters. One chunk knocked Storm out of the air, and Rory only just caught her. The sky began to clear almost immediately.

"Is he dead," a young Anakin asked, peeking his head out from behind Qui-Gon Jinn's robes.

The older Anakin shook his head, "I doubt it, a monster that big never goes down with one hit."

"No," Luke said, stepping up beside the younger forms of his father, "You usually have to destroy something twice before it's over for good."

Venjix twitched and the collected figures moved back.

Luke nodded, "See what I mean."

"All right everyone," Professor X said, raising his voice, "Pull back."

Psycho Blue and Pink joined them without comment. They got a few odd looks but when Venjix raised his enormous head, that's as far as they got.

Venjix's eye's flickered into, a crack running down the glass of his injured eye. His chest had a large hole in the middle and one of his legs had almost been completely cut through by the multiple lightsabers.

"There's no way he's getting up from that," Mal said confidently.

"Do not be so sure," Darth Vader said, his voice sounding like he was scuba diving. "He is more man than machine now, he has learned to feel and it is something he would not give up so easily."

Venjix's wounds began to close, a dark metal filling them up. His glass eye repaired itself, the hole in his chest sealed itself. Within seconds he was completely healed, his metal body gleaming like new.

"That's just not fair," Peter complained.

"Agreed," the three Doctors said with the same annoyed tone.

Venjix climbed slowly to his feet, "I cannot be defeated. I am immortal, I am all powerful, I am…!"

"… annoying," Psycho Pink yelled, interrupting his speech. "You're annoying!"

"Yeah," Psycho Blue yelled, "stop talking and start getting cut to pieces."

Venjix snarled, "You are worms beneath my feet!" He stepped forward quickly, plowing easily through crowd.

A few of the figures with weapons started after him, firing at him with their seemingly endless supply of ammunition. Han Solo and Chewbacca led the way, their laser pistols flashing. The crews of the starships Moya and Serenity followed directly behind them, their weapons blazing too.

The X-Men came next, Storm using wind to speed her companions along. Wolverine's claws were extended to their maximum. He growled, he wanted revenge.

The Jedi and few Sith sprinted to keep up, their lightsabers humming. Assorted battle droids were mixed in with them.

Above them, the Daleks sped through the air, "Ex-ter-min-ate! _Ex-ter-min-ate!_"

"Well, that didn't work," Venkmin said, he and the other 'brainiacs' staying behind.

"Don't rub it in," Nine said testily, "It should have worked."

"Well, it didn't," Rose said. "Now, please, think of something else before we all die!"

"I might have an idea," Psycho Pink said, popping up next to Rose. "It's really, really smart-like. And there's only a slight possibility that we all die!"

Rose jerked away from the strange figure, "Please don't do that."

Psycho Pink patted Rose on the shoulder, "Hey, don't worry, I don't bite. Well, I don't bite normal people."

"And what, pray tell," Izzy asked, "is this brilliant plan?"

Psycho Pink leaned around Rose and whispered in his ear. Izzy's eyes brightened, "That's prodigious!"

* * *

"This is your last chance, metal-head," Jack O'Neill called up to Venjix as he attempted to figure out how to open the door. "Surrender now and we'll…I donno…introduce you to good old fashioned pizza!"

The vast array of characters from different worlds were arrayed behind him, the startling variety of their weaponry all aimed at the giant metal man.

Venjix twirled, "I am Venjix, I am indestructible!"

Storm hiding next to the air vent struck, channeling the water laden air directly at Venjix, chilling it dramatically as it passed by her.

Venjix couldn't move, his magnificent form was covered in a thick layer of ice. "What is happening," he asked, his voice coming through his immobile mouth.

"See you're made of metal again," Psycho Blue said gleefully.

"So you work like this," Psycho Pink explained.

"We freeze you…"

The Daleks flew in, their lasers blasting. The coordinated discharges hit Venjix's frozen form. It shattered, hundreds of sharp shards falling to the floor.

"And you blow up."

The crowd of characters cheered.

"I don't know why you're celebrating," a new voice said.

The group turned to look at the window. Four figures had crawled through broken glass. Their multi colored uniforms matched those of the two hole-filled rangers.

"Red," Psycho Blue exclaimed.

Psycho Red smirked, "We're much worse than he was."

Astronema leaned nonchalantly against Red, "And we've had a _really_ bad day so I suggest just giving up now."

"Hey," Mal said, noticing that a few someone's were missing, "Where'd 'e go?"

Venjix's pieces were gone as was one of the Psycho Rangers. Psycho Pink smiled apologetically, "Sorry, he told me not to say anything. But, hey, I'm still here!"

Rose sighed.

"Now they're gone too!" The crowd turned to look back at the window but the five figures were no longer there. They mumbled uncertainly, was this just another trick? Should they be waiting for an attack?

After an entire hour of tense silence, Han spoke up. "You know," he said, "I'm kind of glad they didn't want to fight. I think I've had enough of it for one day."

"You know what," Ten agreed, "me too. Had enough for a lifetime."

"Or two," Eleven said.

"Yeah…" Peter said thought fully, "all that talk of pizza earlier kind of gave me a craving." He looked back at the crowd, "Who wants pizza?"

The roar nearly deafened everyone involved.

* * *

*AN*

Well, that was fun!

Thanks again to Michelle the Editor for assisting me in this chapter and to everyone else for reading it!

*CL*

Actual Power Ranger Characters:

Red Psycho Ranger

Astronema

Blue Psycho Ranger

Pink Psycho Ranger

A-Squad Green

A-Squad Red(Charlie)

A-Squad Blue

A-Squad Yellow

A-Squad Pink

Venjix

Ghostbusters:

Peter Venkman

Ray Stantz

Doctor Who Characters:

Ninth Doctor

Tenth Doctor

Eleventh Doctor

River Song – Seasons 5 and 6

Rose – Doctor Who

Martha – Doctor Who

Donna – Doctor Who

The Daleks – bad guys in Doctor Who

Crew of Serenity – Firefly

Mal

River Tam

Star Wars Characters:

Anakin – Phantom Menace

Anakin – Revenge of the Sith

Luke Skywalker – Return of the Jedi

Darth Vader – Return of the Jedi

Han Solo and Chewbacca – Return of the Jedi

X-Men

Storm

Professor X

Gambit

Wolverine

Crew of the Moya – Farscape

Jack O'Neill – Stargate SG-1

Izzy – Digimon


	39. Chapter 39: A Change of Scenery

Chapter 39 – A Change of Scenery

Today was the day.

Today was the day the Power Rangers faced the foe that had ripped them from their time steams and turned them into mere toys.

Cam watched the sun brighten Arthur's room for the last time. Months had gone by and the sunrise had never changed. He had watched every one of them. It always rose at the same rate, the amount of light only changed if it was cloudy or in the middle of a thunderstorm. It had become a familiar routine, one he was sometimes joined in but on most mornings, he stood alone to face the new day. He fiddled with his morpher, wondering if he had the courage to do what needed to be done today. If he had the strength to accept today's possible outcomes.

"Thinking deep thoughts," Jayden asked, sitting down beside him. "It _is_ a big day today, or so they tell me." Jayden didn't stare at the Ninja-Samurai Ranger, he kept his gaze on the bright sunbeams inching their way towards them. His team mates were helping the other Rangers - What a strange idea! – finish packing their equipment and assorted things they had picked up over their months here. He had been helping until he spotted a lone green figure sitting on top of a pile of stacked books and had known he was needed elsewhere. He had always been good at understanding what other people were feeling and he was always seemed to know when someone just needed an ear to talk to. The slightly slumping Ninja-Samurai beside him, with his face tense and his eyes wide, fit the criteria.

Cam glanced at the other Samurai Ranger, "No more than normal. I'll be ready."

Jayden shrugged, "I never said that you wouldn't be. You simply seemed…thoughtful."

Cam felt his normal instinct start to take over, blow this stranger off and keep all his feelings to himself, but…maybe… out of all the other Rangers, maybe this one would understand. He was, after all, a Samurai like him. He was, in fact, the leader of the official Samurai Rangers. With his father was missing and his teammates concerned with preparing for today, this might be the only person he could connect with. "I…," he began but stopped in apprehension. He was not good at talking about his feelings.

Jayden smiled a small smile of encouragement but didn't say anything else.

"I am simply wondering," he blurted out loudly, "whether or not today will day that I and my friends die."

Jayden's face turned serious. "Do you believe this is a real possibility," he asked. "If our Foe had intended on simply killing us, would she not have already done so?"

Cam was silent for a few seconds, internally berating himself for saying too much. "I don't know," he admitted In any other case, I would agree with what you are saying. Even Lothor didn't really kill all the Academy students. But there's something wrong here, something's different."

Jayden's eyebrows narrowed in thought, "What do you mean, different?"

Cam kicked his legs restlessly, "I don't know!" He glanced behind them where the mass of Rangers were busting around Arthur's room. "I just feel like we're missing something important."

Hissta slithered over to them, "Hey, everyone's gathering under Arthur's bed. Zordon's going to say something before I start the portal."

Cam sighed, retreating back into his shell, "All right, we're coming."

Jayden helped him stand, "Don't worry about it Cam," he said, "I'll make sure and keep an eye out. If something happens, we'll be ready."

* * *

Zordon once again surveyed the bolstered might of the Power Rangers. Having sent seven brave souls into the unknown had lessened their strength but with the addition of the newly christened Samurai Rangers, they were again at full strength and more. His brave Rangers did not show their fear or apprehension. "We gather in this strange world, one last time. The danger that we face today has unknown powers and strengths." His glowing blue face smiled, "But this is not the first time that has happened."

The Rangers chuckled and the tension lightened a bit.

"I know that you will get through this," Zordon continued confidently, "I know that at the end of the day evil will not triumph over good and through hard work and team work, the Power Rangers will come out on top."

Dr. K waited politely for Zordon to finish and when it was obvious that he had said his piece, she motioned to the four Rangers who would push the Zordon's cart out from under the bed.

"Wait," a lone voice called out from the crowd of Rangers. The sea of faces parted until it stopped at Green Carlos who was shifting nervously.

Dr. K glared out at him, "What?"

"Zordon…," Carlos continued, "you didn't say it."

"Say what," Dr. K asked in annoyance.

Zordon laughed, a bright, pure sound that seemed to make the shadows retreat in awe. "I apologize." His smile widened and his eyes sparkled through his tube, "Rangers, may the Power protect you."

* * *

Then the Rangers had to say their goodbyes to Arthur. The kid was upset, he wasn't crying but his eyes were watering. He'd only known the Rangers for a few days but he didn't ever want to see them go. He gripped poor Trip so hard, Jen was afraid his head would pop off.

"But," he blubbered almost incoherently, "why can't I go with you?" He shook Trip around in his distress, "I can help! I'm bigger and stronger than you! You need me!"

Jen's temper snapped when Trip started to lose color, "Enough!" She leapt into the chair then onto the desk. She glared up at Arthur, "First of all, _put the kid down!_"

Arthur blinked, he had forgotten about Trip. Gently he set Trip next to Jen. "Sorry."

Eye's wide and seeming a little off-kilter, Trip grinned at Jen, "Why's the room all spinny?"

Jen sighed and pointed the stumbling Trip towards the other Rangers on the desk who helped steady him. Then she looked back at Arthur, "We have to go and you have to stay." Arthur started to protest again but Jen cut through him, "Arthur, you're a brave kid. Really. But you have to stay here. Your life is here and where we're going is no place for an untrained kid." There were some murmurs of protest and Jen amended, "No matter how many of us may have started out that way, this is not your fight Arthur."

Arthur still looked rebellious. Justin stepped forward, understanding now why he had stayed home when his friends went into space to search for Zordon. "Think of your mother," he said, thinking of his own father, the reason he had stayed behind. "What would she say if she didn't know where you were? She'd be worried, right? Worried and afraid. So shouldn't you stay here and protect her and your sister?"

Arthur's face fell and he stared at the ground, the water in his eyes started pooling around the edges, "Yes." He sat down in the chair and stared at the Rangers on the desk, "Do you need anything? Food, water?"

"We're plastic," Jen reminded him.

"But I've seen you eat!"

Bridge leapt forward, "If it wouldn't be too much trouble…."

Arthur laughed, feeling a little better, "I'll go get some bread and butter."

* * *

After Arthur returned, the remaining Rangers, volunteering villains and assorted mentors gathered around Hissta on the top of Arthur's desk, filling almost every space available. The Megaship had been pushed to one side and the In Space Rangers were standing awkwardly on top of it. They would not be able to bring it with them.

"I hope DECA's ok," Andros lamented as they waited for Hissta.

"I'm sure she's still in there," Ashley said consolingly, taking his hand. "We'll find some way to come back for her, I promise."

Udonna had a few last pieces of advice for Arthur, "Don't let the villains push you around."

Indiana Jones tipped his hat at her, "That'll be my job ma'am. Keeping these worthless…what did you call them, flowers?, in line." He grinned, "Not normally my expertise but all of you are needed to figure out what's wrong with us and get us back to normal. I'll take care of the kid and the local shrubbery."

Theo shook Indiana's hand, "It's been a pleasure getting to meet you Mr. Jones."

Indiana frowned, "Call me Indy, Mr. Jones is my father."

"This is extremely uncomfortable," Eric complained loudly.

Taylor smacked him on his head, "Chill Eric. You're not making this any easier."

Hissta hissed, "Can we get going? If I'm going to die, I'd rather get it over with."

"No one's going to let her kill you Hissta," Kimberly assured her.

"Yeah, well, you don't know what you're getting yourself into saying that. But thanks for the support, I suppose." The Rangers huddled even closer as Arthur, Indiana and the remaining villains moved back. Hissta held her scaley hands in the air, "Ad Rem!" A few inches above them a crackling vortex appeared. It started small, hovering only over Hissta but Hissta growled and the hole grew until it just barely encompassed all of the Rangers and company.

They began to rise, slowly their small feet lifted off the carpeted floor.

"Do you need some help," Claire asked cheerfully, "I'm really good at portals."

"No," Hissta growled, "I've got it."

Arthur sniffed but stayed back with the villains and Indiana. He would be brave.

Dom, the Jungle Fury White Rino Ranger, was the first to reach the event horizon. He reached up and touched the glowing line, "It feels like jelly."

"Don't touch it," Hissta grunted. The effort of levitating this many people and holding the gate open was hard enough without someone messing with the energy flow. "If we don't enter at the same time, you'll get sent and we won't. Stay still."

"Sorry."

Once all the action figures reached the same height, Hissta was reaching the limits of her strength but she only had t o hold on for a few more seconds. "On the count of three, put your arm through the gate but not before then! One!"

Everyone raised their hands until they were just below the line but didn't actually touch it.

Hissta started to sweat from the effort, "Two!"

Arthur and Indiana waved good-bye.

"Three!"

Over a hundred tiny hands reached up, breaking the plane of the gate. A beam of intense light engulfed them and they vanished.

Arthur quickly put out the smoldering circle on his desk, "That's going to be hard to explain." He heard the villains cheer behind him and sighed, "This isn't going to be easy, is it?"

Indiana, whip in one hand, plastic gun in the other, shook his head, "Nope." A few of the villains began to rush towards them and Indy snorted, "Typical."

* * *

The Rangers flashed into being again. They instantly scanned the room, looking for enemies and cover. They found neither. Instead there was a very large, very dark room. In the center they could see the shadows of three tall rings and on the far side was a tall console. There were two dark shadowy rectangles near the far corner of the room.

"This room is completely empty," Goldar complained loudly, gesturing widely with clenched fists. "I was expecting to fight some kind of giant lady!"

"Calm down Goldar," Tanya whispered, "I'm sure we'll have to fight soon enough. And quiet! We're trying to be stealthy!"

"Any sign of the others," Jason asked, scanning the darkness for any shorter shadows. "I was kind of hoping they would have gotten here first."

"Nope," Turbo T.J. said. "I don't see anyone…"

"But we need to make sure," Blue T.J. said, finishing his previous self's sentence.

"Spread out but stay in sight of someone else," Andros said sharply, "And anyone that so much as looks at those doors for too long, has Eric duty for a week."

The Rangers shivered at the threat. Eric just smirked.

At back the edge of the group Kimberly helped Hissta to her feet, "Hissta, are you ok?"

Hissta nodded, catching her breath. "That took a lot of energy, just give me a second and I'll be just fine." She took a deep breath then hissed loudly, a bright golden cage slammed around the small figures, excluding Kimberly and Hissta. The sparkling golden light lit up a good portion of the empty room.

Trapped Rangers started throwing themselves against the bars but their best efforts fell flat. Even the Mystic Ranger's magic and Claire's skill with portals failed to free them.

To everyone's surprise, Hissta started cackling, "You idiots!" She laughed loudly, "You complete and total morons!"

"Hissta," Kimberly said tentatively, "what's going on?"

Hissta's eyes glanced at her hesitantly then changed into mirthful scorn as they surveyed the Rangers caught behind the glowing bars, "My Lady will be pleased when she gets back to find all of her escaped toys back where they belong. When my initial attempt failed and I was shrunken to fit the dimensions of the world I had arrived into, I had to think quickly. I told you that my Lady does not take failure lightly and I had no intention of dying like that fool Fishton. So I faked changing sides in order to give myself time to recover my magic and still accomplish my mission."

Cam shot Jayden a furious and annoyed glance.

"Which was what _exactly,_" Merrick snarled.

"Bring back the Power Rangers, my Lady is not done with you yet," Hissta said smugly. "I couldn't stop you from sending those seven through the Wardrobe but," she chuckled, "I think we'll be seeing them soon."

"You know where that Wardrobe goes to," Alyssa asked. "Where?"

Hissta shrugged, "You'll find out soon enough. Just know that my Lady has people everywhere and they are as loyal as I am. Her wrath is a terrifying thing."

Kimberly laid a trembling hand on Hissta's shoulder. "Hissta," she said softly, "you don't have to do this! We can defeat her!"

"No," Hissta said harshly, "You can't." She sighed, "But I appreciate the thought." She gestured with one of her clawed hands and a glowing portal engulfed the Mighty Morphin Pink Ranger. "But I don't like the idea of the only person who ever was sincerely nice to me being here when my Lady gets back. I doubt it will be pretty."

Kimberly vanished.

"Where did you send her," Green and White Tommy yelled in unison.

Hissta glared at them, "Back to Arthur's, I just said I wouldn't hurt her." One of the doors slammed open, light spilling from the open space, and she muttered, "I can't, however, promise that for the rest of you."

As a tall shadow ominously filled the doorway, Zordon turned in his tube to face the snake-lady, "What are her plans for my Rangers?"

Hissta glanced at him then turned away, "I…I don't know but I." She took a deep breath and started slithering towards the open door, "I don't think you're expected to survive."

* * *

*AN*

Oooo! Looks like Hissta really was just a creepy snake lady, you always need to watch those snakes. They're sneaky!

Sorry about the delay guys but, honestly, it'll probably be happening more frequently over the next two months. Life and stuff.

*CL*

Cam – Green Samurai Ninja Storm Ranger

Jayton – Red Samurai Ranger

Hissta – Snake Lady

Zordon – Mentor for Mighty Morphin – In Space. Known for saying, May the Power protect you.

Dr. K. – Mentor for RPM

Carlos – Green Turbo Ranger

Jen – Pink Time Force Ranger

Trip – Green Time Force Ranger

Bridge – Green SPD Ranger

Andros – Red In Space Ranger

Ashley – Yellow In Space Ranger

Kimberly – Pink Mighty Morphin Ranger

Indiana Jones – He's Indiana Jones from Indiana Jones and the … Movies

Eric – Quantum Ranger – Time Force

Taylor – Yellow Wild Force Ranger

Claire – Udonna's apprentice – Mystic Force

Goldar – Minion from Mighty Morphin

Tanya – Yellow Zeo Ranger

Jason – Red Mighty Morphin Ranger

Turbo T.J. – Red Turbo Ranger

Blue T.J. – Blue In Space Ranger

Merrick – Lunar Wolf Ranger – Wild Force

Alyssa – White Tiger Ranger – Wild Force

Green Tommy – Green Mighty Morphin Ranger

White Tommy – White Mighty Morphin Ranger


	40. Chapter 40: A Portal and a Princess

Chapter 40 – A Portal and a Princess

A proud new Megazord towered over Mish-Mash town, its multicolored pieces gleaming in the bright eternal sunlight and its odd collection of Zords matching the odd collections of buildings surrounding it. Vida's purple Mystic Sprite formed the center of the tall Zord, its shape obvious and its drained magical systems once powered the machine. Alex's Time Flyer made the right arm, a hand growing out of its split wings. Tommy's Red Lightning made up the left arm, its four tires lining the outside, a hand growing out of it. The white paint had been stripped off, leaving only the bright red paint behind. Chad's Aqua Rescue Zord made up the two legs, feet growing from the halved centers. Summer's Bear Crawler formed the head, its head pulled back over a mechanical head, like the hood of a jacket.

Beside it, lying haphazardly on its side, were the damaged remains of the once proud Tyrannozord. Most of the collected Rangers looked up at them in pride. Billy and Tommy just grimaced.

"Do you think Jason will forgive us," Billy asked timidly, staring upwards. The Tyrannozord's arms had been bent to the sides, it's bright red body was full of cracks and dents. It's jaw was hanging sadly to one side.

"I can honestly say I don't know," Tommy admitted, "we just trashed his Zord."

"It was possessed," Billy protested. "And attacking us!"

"Still his Zord," Tommy insisted. "He's very protective of it."

Billy buried his face in his hands then his shoulders stiffened and he looked up at the broken Zord with an excited face, "I can fix him!"

Tommy laid a hand on his genius friend, "Now, Billy, we kind of have a bigger problem right now…."

But Billy was already lost in his excitement, his mind bubbling with all the improvements he could make, "I could add a tail ring stabilizer…no, that might throw off the balance…" He muttered softly to himself, his eyes shining. Oblivious to the Tommy's protests, Billy walked to the damaged Zord, "I can rebuild him!"

So unusual was the intense enthusiasm in his quiet friend that Tommy half expected him to break out in maniacal laughter.

"I think it helps him cope," Trevor said, walking up beside Tommy. "Hayley and Angela do it sometimes too when they're stressed. Get's their minds off things. Last time they did that, they completely redesigned the Mansion's security system. Although, it did take them a week to get it to stop trying to kill me every time I coughed."

Tommy nodded, "We all deal with the world in different ways." He glanced at the clone, "How are you coping?"

Trevor shrugged, "With what?"

"Tommorow's the day."

"Yeah, I know."

Tommy, tired of Trevor avoiding the question, turned and faced him, "Do you think you're ready to face our seemingly all powerful enemy tomorrow? Betray the woman you've been working for for the past few months? Separate our timelines again?" He didn't say it but the thought was implied, 'Go back to your world and your… 'fate'?'

Trevor glared at him, "I'll be _just_ fine." He stormed away, glancing up at the Mish-Mash Zord as he went by it. He was again stunned by the sheer tenacity of the Rangers. Even here, without their powers, they had come up with some way to destroy a giant monster. They hadn't even flinched when it came time for them to defend the city, even one that had shown them nothing but hatred and anger. He felt his shoulders slump as he walked away from the Zord and into the city itself.

* * *

People greeted him as he passed by and he instantly noticed a change in them. They walked with an ease that had been missing since they got here, their steps were softer and their faces lighter. They may not say so out loud but their faith in the Rangers had been restored. He could never be like them. He never had been. His few months as the leader, as the hero of Mish Mash town, had all been an illusion. His illusion. If he wasn't their hero anymore, what was he? Was he just Trent's clone? Was he just a mindless minion of evil? He stopped and stared around him at the milling and happy city. Was being evil all he was good at? All that he was good for?

If that was true, what would he do when tomorrow came?

* * *

Repairs on the damaged buildings were either going slow or not underway at all. No one was sure what would happen after tomorrows events. Would the buildings suddenly be whole again when they were returned to their own worlds? Would they simply go back and forget this ever happened? With all the uncertainty, most of the damage sat undisturbed and ignored. Those few who were working on the repairs were doing it simply for the action of it. Not wanting to spend their time dreading the next two dawns, they did something useful. Even if it might not matter in the end.

One of these few but determined people was Mack Hartford, Red Ranger for Power Rangers: Overdrive. On the outskirts of the strange town, the possessed Tyrannosaurus Zord had demolished a tall five story building that had, luckily, been abandoned at the time of the battle. It was far from the bustle of the rest of the other Rangers and a perfect fit for his mood. He knew he should be training, preparing. He knew he should be helping Hayley and the others try sciency ways to defend themselves. He knew he should be studying the new Megazord to see if they could take it with them. He knew he should be anywhere else and doing anything else. But here he was, hauling rubble out of a broken building, his mind focused on the simple, menial task. He had never done nor liked manual labor before, this today was just been a strange compulsion. Doing something so fundamentally effortless that no other thought or analysis was required.

He had always considered himself good at coping. Heck, he had recently discovered that was a robot and he thought he handled that…decently. Well, ok, less than decently. He had pretty much lost it but he had eventually come to terms with his robo-humanity. Well, ok, not really. He still pretty much struggled with it on a daily basis. He opened and closed his hand, felling the complex system of muscles flex. All artificial, all fake. He shook his head and leaned over to pick up a particularly large piece of rubble, pushing the distressing thought out of his head.

Yeah, coping. He could cope. He could push the thought away and take another breath. Breathe and blink, watch another sun set and another sun rise.

* * *

In the center of the town, far away from the coping robot, another Red Ranger was locked in a completely different kind of battle. Alex had freed Circuit from his painful prison and, after an hour long rebuilding session where Hayley and Angela had cooed and ooed over the cute robotic owl, he was able to walk and talk again. And he hadn't shut up since.

"I'm supposed to do what," Circuit asked for the hundredth time, his new reinforced body sparkling in the sunlight. "You want me to go where?"

Hayley knelt down and picked the blue bird up, hugging him. "I promise you'll be safe," she reassured him, "We won't let anything get you."

"That's easy for you to say," Circuit said, "You'll be on _this_ side of the portal! I don't want to, I'm scared!"

"Listen, bird," Alex said, his annoyance overpowering his guilt, "You're going and that's that."

Hayley glared at Alex. "Circuit, I know you've been through a lot lately," she said softly, "I know that you saw some terrifying things and were in pain for most of it."

Circuit shivered and Hayley hugged him tighter.

"But we don't have anyone else who can do this. You're the only one who we think could go through undetected. You're not a Ranger and you're not human. The security system should just let you through. We need to know what's waiting for us on the other side but we couldn't leave you in that machine. We still need you to be brave, Circuit. The lives of all of the Rangers could depend on how much we know."

Circuit blinked then looked up at her with his big eyes, "Even Trip?"

Hayley looked at Alex in confusion, "Trip?"

Alex coughed, "He's the Green Ranger on my team. He's kind of Circuit's best friend."

Hayley hesitated, feeling like she was manipulating him even though it was the truth, "Yes, even Trip."

Circuit straightened, his metal wings flung themselves out, "All right, for Trip!"

Hayley set him back down and he waddled over to the edge of the portal. He looked back at them, Hayley nodded encouragingly while Alex just motioned for him to keep going. He sighed and stepped through.

* * *

On the computer he was holding, Alex watched as a picture flickered into life. They had attached a camera to the top of Circuit's head so that they could see what he saw. "We're in!"

"Ok Circuit," Hayley said through the communications device they had devised, "We can see."

"It's dark in here," Circuit said as the picture started shaking which meant that he was probably shaking too.

"Stop shaking the camera," Alex said, "We can't see."

"Oh, sorry."

The picture scanned across the room and it was dark or at least very difficult to make anything out.

"Don't your eyes light up or something," Alex hissed.

"Oh, right!" The picture brightened as twin beams of light shot out from below where Circuits eyes were.

"Much better."

"There," Hayley said, pointing at a console on the far side of the room. "I think I remember that!" She closed her eyes and tried to remember, flashes of pictures ran through her minds eye. "Yes, that's the control to the portal, I bet it's also linked to whatever computer network the Lady uses!"

"Walk to the console," Alex commanded Circuit. "and see if you can find a way inside the panels."

Circuit did so, the camera moving side to side enough to make Alex feel sea sick.

Hayley laughed quietly as Alex's face turned green.

"There's no panel," Circuit reported after he looked over the tall structure. "How do I get inside?"

Hayley smirked, "Check your system, when we repaired you we gave you a few upgrades."

The two beams of light vanished but were soon replaced by brighter beams of pure energy. They cut through the metal plating as easily as a knife cuts through soft butter. A second later the energy beams disappeared and the room was once again lit up by Circuits flashlight eyes. Circuit reached forward with one wing and knocked the loose cut panel. A bundle of wires spilt out.

Hayley studied the picture, "Let's try the purple wire."

Alex snorted, "It's obviously the red one."

* * *

Vida hated the color pink. Completely and without shame, hated it. And yet when she had been turned into a tiny plastic figure, whatever dark power had done the deed had left them in their Ranger uniforms. Which was pink. Pale pink like the kind you would find painted on a baby girl's walls. Even her cape, which she had to admit was awesome, was pink. Pink was the color of her Zord, pink was the color she found herself wearing most often. Her friends insisted on giving her pink themed gifts.

Pink was more than a color to her, it was a malevolent life form intent on stalking her throughout her life.

Which was why when she walked through a seemingly innocent door in one of the buildings that had been damaged in the fight and was bombarded with bright flares of her least favorite color, she merely sighed and accepted her fate. She was Pink, hear her roar.

The store turned out to be worse than its choice in shading. Whatever new horror this was, it was full of fluffy bears, frilly dresses and waterfalls of sparkling jewelry.

Vida cringed and twirled on the spot, if fate was going to persist with its pink assault, the least she could do was ignore it.

"Oh my goodness," a high pitched feminine voice squealed somewhere behind the stack of pink stuffed animals. Vida took a second to glare at the perfectly stacked pile of pink pegasi, penguins and bears. "Oh my goodness!" A small, skinny smiling woman came skipping into view, wearing a puffy pale pink dress and with her hair tied up with a bright pink bow. A small tiara rested on the top of her head. "Can I help you," she asked, her smile widening when she saw the color of Vida's uniform.

"Uh," Vida wanted to run. In front of her was the very embodiment of everything she disliked about pink and its connotations. Bubbly, childlike and far too cheery. She couldn't help but frown in annoyance, her eyes looking everywhere but at the blinding pinkness in front of her , "I'm just supposed to check the buildings around here and make sure no one's been hurt. Is everyone in this building all right?"

The pink 'princess' clasp her hands together, "Oh my! You must be one of those Power Rangers we've heard so much about!"

Vida nodded reluctantly, the woman's attitude grating on her nerves.

"Well," she said her eyes turned upwards, thinking, "As far as I am aware, I am the only tenant in this building. All the others moved out weeks ago."

Anxious to get out of this pink terror, Vida nodded, "Good, I'll just be…"

"But I can't say that for sure," the woman answered over Vida's attempt to escape, "I could have sworn I heard footsteps upstairs last night."

Vida barely held in an annoyed growl. "All right, I guess I should take a look."

"Ooo, I'll go with you," the woman happily declared.

* * *

"You're doing that wrong," Hayley said for the third time, her tone light but insistent.

Alex took a deep breath, he would not lose his temper. These civilians had proven, at least a little, that they could be trusted. They had done the impossible and constructed a completely new Megazord out of five completely incompatible and time crossed Zords. And, as hard as it was to admit it, they had impressed him with their brilliance and calm in the face of that monster. So even as annoying as this one was being, he would treat her with the respect she had earned. "Listen…_Hayley_, I have been in command of a multi-time spatial security force, I have face down some of time's most terrifying criminals, I have watched my friends face dangers most people would run from and been powerless to help them." He waved his hand at her, "In other words, I think I know how to bypass a triple lock, time sealed security system without alerting the watcher AI!"

"And I'm just saying, you could have let me help you code the worm!"

"I don't need your help!"

"Well, apparently you do," Hayley said her voice becoming concerned as she watched the code on the screen stop flickering. "You just got caught."

Alex frantically started typing, his fingers moving faster than most people could blink. "Come on," he pleaded to no one in particular, "Come on."

Hayley leaned closer, "She's back-tracking you! You have to disconnect!"

"I'm trying!" Alex's lightning fast coding slowed down the columns of invading code that threatened to infect Circuit. "It's…it's just too much!"

Hayley jerked the computer away from Alex, one hand holding the machine steady while the other typed five words into the waiting command line: System/Circuit Disconnect/All /Final. The incoming code stopped dead and the screen went blank.

Alex, in a rare stirring of concern grabbed Hayley by her shoulder, "What did you do? Is Circuit all right?"

Hayley smiled, "He's fine. I just severed his outgoing and incoming command lines, we can't communicate with him but neither can that computer system. I'm sure he'll find his way back to the portal on his own."

Alex paused for a second then nodded, letting go of her arm, "Ok….sorry...about that."

Hayley just nodded.

They waited in silence for a few minutes before a bright light lit up the Ring and Circuit came stumbling out. His eyes were drooping but his spirit was still high, "That was fun!"

Hayley picked Circuit up, hugging him tightly, "We're sorry Circuit, we didn't think her defenses would be that intense!"

Circuit struggled to get out of her grasp, "I'm all right, really! And I have something for you!" A small compartment opened on the top of his head, a small disk slid out. "Here!"

"What is it," Alex asked, tacking the disk.

"All the information I could lay my hands on before you cut my connection," Circuit said smugly. "There's a lot of it there but I'm not sure what's on it."

"That's wonderful," Hayley said, grabbing the disk from Alex, "That means that we'll be better prepared for tomorrow."

Alex snatched the disk back, eyeing it greedily, "The more we know, the more dangerous we can be."

"No," Hayley said, correcting him, "The more we know, the more we can help our friends. They'll be walking in blind. They only have that snake lady to help them. She may not be enough. We'll have to be ready to save them if they get into trouble."

* * *

The upper floor of the building was severely damaged. Vida wasn't a construction expert but she was convinced that it wouldn't last much longer. Beams lay diagonal from ceiling to floor, entire patches of the roof were missing. The far side of the large room appeared to have fallen in. There was a thick layer of dust and rubble everywhere. Vida squeezed carefully through a small crack in the wall, the sharp edges painfully pressing into her. And through all of this, the pink little princess had come through without a scratch. Her long pink dress was just as prim and pristine as it had been in the pink boutique.

"I don't see anyone," the princess said, her voice having lost its lofty heights, as she stepped tenderly onto a squeaking floorboard. "Maybe I imagined it."

"I doubt there was anyone here to begin with," Vida mumbled to herself. But she had to make sure. "Anybody home," she called, her loud voice sifting some of the dust.

They were quiet for a few seconds but they heard no reply. Vida sighed, time wasted. She started to get angry at the pink figure who had brought her up here, didn't she know she had better things to be doing? She should be out there saving people, not in here searching fruitlessly because of the pointless imagination of such a flighty creature. She growled but as she was turning to make her treacherous way back to the stairs, she heard a muffled shout and a large beam shifted not too far away. "There's someone there!"

Vida quickly picked her way over to the spot but, to her surprise, the little princess beat her to it. Perfectly manicured hand pulled at the debris covering the figure, uncaring at the cuts the sharp pieces were causing. Vida reached her and helped her. They were quickly able to uncover a wizened old man, his eyes wide and sunken in and his hair matted and dirty. He looked up at them, eyes shining in thanks, "You found me!" He coughed, "I thought…"

Vida quickly checked him over. He would need medical attention but he should be safe to move. She asked him a few quick questions to determine if there had been any brain damage then started helping him stand. He stumbled and the princess caught him.

"It's all right," she said tenderly, "I'll help you."

The old man leaned on her gratefully.

The three started across the floor, each step the squeals of protest from the rotten or broken boards beneath them grew louder. Until, instead of a squeal or creak, they heard a loud snap.

Vida shoved the two away, "Run!"

The floor collapsed under them, Vida fell first, the floor giving way below her first. She landed harshly on the wooden floor, pain driving her away for a few agony filled seconds. When she recovered enough to look back up, she saw an amazing sight. Through the splinters of wood and falling columns of dust, the old man and the princess fell. This fall could kill the old man, and the princess knew it. In the few eyeblinks that they were falling and at the expense of her own safety and possibility of the loss of her own life, the princess was able to maneuver the old man to the only safe place in the store below. The pile of stuffed animals that Vida had looked at with such disdain earlier.

The princess landed and Vida lost sight of her as the rest of the ceiling fell down on top of them.

* * *

When Vida came to later, the first thing she saw was the color pink. Her brain connected the sight with a new significance and she realized that she was lying on her side in a warm bed. The princess was lying in a similar bed not far away. The bed's sheets were all bright pink. And the princess herself was sitting up in the bed, reading what seemed to be a fairy tale book. She noticed that Vida was looking at her and smiled, "Good morning!"

"What, happened," Vida asked, her voice coming out hoarse.

"She pulled you and an older man out of the wreckage of that building," a voice said from behind her.

Painfully Vida turned around and found herself facing Daggeron who was leaning tensely against the wall. Daggeron glowered at her, "You could have been seriously injured Vida. That was careless of you."

Vida winced, "I know."

Daggeron glowered at her a little longer then shook his head, standing straight, "I'll go let the other's know you're all right. They were worried." He left.

Vida turned around to find the princess studying her. "You have some very true friends, they were in here all the time you were unconscious," she said as her eyes grew wistful and distant. "I have such friends as well. But I have not seen them since I arrived. I am worried for their safety."

Now that Vida was properly looking at the pink princess, she thought that she looked vaguely familiar, "Do I know you?"

The princess's eyes turned mirthful, "No but I have heard that line before. Why, when that tall one with the long hair came in here, he practically fainted!"

Vida's memory desperately tried to connect a name to her face, "What's your name?"

The princess nodded at her politely, "My name is Fuchsia O'Hara and it is an honor to make your acquaintance."

"Kimberly," Vida exclaimed, "that's who you look like! The original Pink Ranger!"

"I am told," Fuchsia said, "that I am an ancestor of your Kimberly. My friends met her once too. She gave them the strangest powers!"

Vida's mind clicked, "The Wild West Rangers? From when Kimberly went back into the past and met the Mighty Morphin Rangers ancestors who inexplicably looked exactly like them?"

"I…suppose you could call them that, yes."

The other Rangers filed in then, filling up the small room. Tommy kept glancing at the his girlfriends identical ancestor while the others looked at Vida with mixtures of relief and annoyance. Summer and Alex were conspicuously missing.

"Well, Vida" Chad said, trying to lighten the atmosphere, "what have you learned today?"

Vida sighed and laid back in the bed, "In short, don't judge a book by its color."

They all laughed.

* * *

*AN*

A bit of back story for those who haven't seen _every single_ episode of the Power Rangers(the shame;)!) The Wild West Rangers were created when Kimberly went back in time to the wild west and found the identical ancestors of her friends. They found Zordon(who had existed even back then) who gave them the Powers. They fought a monster and Kimberly went back to the present.

So, I thought I'd try something a little bit different. This chapter as an actual episode. It has two parallel stories, a beginning, a middle and an end. And everyone laughs at the end(a trend that I never really understood, I have to admit). And yes, this was actually two separate chapters mish-mashed together. I thought it was appropriate for the setting.

Anywhoo, next updates the big one. Probably. Where worlds collide and battles commence. I can't wait:)!

*CL*

Billy Cranston - Mighty Morphin Blue

Tommy – Red Turbo but remembers Zeo

Chad Lee – Blue Lightspeed Rescue

Alex – Red Time Force

Vida Rocca – Pink Mystic Force

Mack Hartford – Red Operation Overdrive – is a robot

Summer Landsdown – Yellow RPM

Evil White Dino Clone(Trevor) – Clone of Trent's White Dino Powers

Fuchsia O'Hara – Kimberly's Wild West ancestor – also likes pink

Hayley – Mentor and scientist from Dino Thunder

Daggeron – Mentor and Solaris Knight from Mystic Force

Angela Fairweather – Scientist from Lightspeed Rescue

Circuit – Robot Owl from Time Force


	41. Chapter 41: Bars and Bookcases

Chapter 41 – Bars and Bookcases

Hissta's conversation with her mistress was not going as she expected. She had hoped to be welcomed back with open arms and praises. What she got was the flat of her mistresses hand and insults. Her mistress was not as calm as she had been when she sent Hissta on her mission, her voice seemed hoarser and harsher. The giant, shadowy hands that struck her were wrinkled and the nails that slashed across her scales were sharp and rotten. Even the shadow itself seemed to be both more tattered and sharper at the same time. "You fool," her mistress screamed in a ragged voice, "You lazy, idiotic fool!"

"But Lady," Hissta pleaded, "I brought back the Power Rangers, just like you asked!"

The Lady's hand again knocked Hissta a few feet across the floor, she stalked towards her tiny servant, "I did not command you to bring them all back, I only wanted four of them! _Four_! Do you know what you've done by bringing them all here? What all you have put in danger?"

Hissta cowered before the furious figure that towered over her, seething. She fell to the floor to avoid another blow, "Lady!, please, I thought only to impress you!"

"Well," the Lady said, her voice suddenly icy calm again, "I suppose you are simply too stupid to realize just how dangerous this is."

Hissta, sensing that the situation had gone from terrifying to downright deadly, slowly started backing away from the tall shadow.

The Lady didn't seem to notice that her servant was trying to flee. Instead, the shadowy form that she used to conceal her true form slowly made its way over to the cage that was holding most of the Power Rangers.

The Rangers looked up at her, not one face showing fear.

The Lady grinned, her smile a flash of white on her unseen face. "Well, Power Rangers. I never thought I'd have to opportunity to actually talk to you." She leaned down, "Did you know that you were supposed to remain unmoving action figures for all of eternity while all of the universes in existence fell to me one by one?"

"Who are you," Jack Landers, SPD Red Ranger, asked, stepping up to the front of the cage.

"Ah, of course it's a Red Ranger that speaks up first. Always the ones to race out into danger you have no concept of." She reached down, her shadowy hand easily moving through the bright bars of the cage. She picked him up and pulled him close to her face, "Well, Jack, do you feel so confident now?" As she spoke, all the light in the room seemed to retreat and an impossibly intense force seemed to weigh on him, making it almost impossible to even move. Shouts and screams of terror sounded from nowhere, terrors and nightmares seemed to force themselves into his mind. Every horrible thing that he had ever seen or imagined happened all at once, overwhelming his stoic emotions.

He broke down and started weeping.

The Lady grinned again, this time the entire room seemed to grow colder at the malevolent glee that was expressed by it. She pushed Jack back into the cage, "I suggest you sit this one out, Rangers. I have no quarrel with you but if you get in my way…" The threat remained unsaid but as Jacks friends tried to comfort them, they all felt a seed of fear take root.

The Lady left then, her form drifting through the door. It slammed shut behind them and as the sound faded the only thing left to hear was the sound of a Red Ranger crying in terror.

* * *

The area around the Ring, once treated as a place to be afraid of, was now awash with smiling faces and laughter. Today was the day.

Trevor stood at the head of a group of Power Rangers, his back to the people he had sworn to protect and his may possible futures in front of him. He still struggled with the idea of betraying the Power Rangers to the Lady. He respected them and their willingness to risk their lives to protect people. But the idea of ridding the world of both monsters and them alike was tempting as well. Without Rangers or monsters, he could insure the safety of the people who had once relied on him. He scowled as he waited for the Rangers behind him to finish their goodbyes.

"Are you sure you can't wait," Angela asked on last time, "I'm sure that we could figure out some way for you to take it with you if we just had a little more time."

"We can't wait any longer," Alex said forcefully, "We're running late as it is!" This seriously aggravated Alex, he like to follow the philosophy that if you're on time, you're late but if you're early, you're on time. And they were way past on time.

Chad was saying goodbye to his new friends, Spike and Devin.

Spike was hugging Chad tightly, refusing to let go, "Don't go Chad Lee, it's too dangerous!"

Devin was trying to pull Spike away, "Come on man, don't be clingy like this! It's not cool!"

"No," Spike insisted, afraid to lose his new found Power Ranger friend, "he could get hurt! Wait!" He unexpectedly let go of Chad, "I know! I'll go with you!"

Chad stared at the teen in horror.

Spike struck what he thought was a heroic pose, "A samurai never lets his friends go off to battle alone!" He pulled Devin up, "We'll go with you!"

Devin laughed nervously, "Uh, we will?"

"Of course," Spike grinned.

Chad desperately tried to come up with some excuse to leave the pair behind.

Alex, who was walking past them, solved the dilemma very curtly, "No civilians."

Spike opened his mouth to argue when Tommy walked by, "No."

Spike stuck his tongue out at his back but Chad clung to the idea, "Sorry, guys. You heard what scary boss man and the reformed evil minion said, you'll have to hold down the fort here."

"Are you sure you don't want me to send some of my men with you," Colonel Mason asked, gesturing to the rows of heavily armed soldiers standing behind him. "I'm sure you're going to need all the help you can get."

Summer hesitated, it would be nice to know that the might of the Corinth Defense Force was at their back. But it would also mean more people that would need to be looked out for. It would probably be best to just leave them here. "Thank you for the offer but I think you might need them if we do succeed. We're still not quite sure what will happen."

Colonel Mason nodded, "Alright, but I want you to take this extra Engine Cell. We have no use for it but you might find one. You know, if you ever get your powers back."

"Thanks Colonel," Summer said, "we'll do what we can. Be ready for anything over the next hour."

Colonel Mason saluted her, the ranks of soldiers behind him followed suit. Summer solemnly returned the gesture.

Vida, Mack and Billy were standing with Ernie and Jaytron near the edge of the crowd. Billy reached out and shook Ernie's hand, "Ernie."

"Billy," Ernie said. "You three be safe," he admonished.

"Yeah, don't get into trouble," Jaytron said.

"Yeah, you either," Vida said, raising her eyebrow. "Stay away from abandoned villain hideouts."

"Yeah," Jaytron said, blushing slightly, "you too."

Mack started walking towards the Ring, when Ernie grabbed his shoulder. Mack turned and Ernie looked at him earnestly, "You too, Mack. I know you don't talk much around new people but I just wanted to wish you well too."

Mack smiled, brightening a little, "Oh." He had to admit that he hadn't gone out of his way to make new friends here but he was glad that someone had taken notice of him. He reached out his hand, "Thanks, Ernie."

Ernie grinned cheerfully, like he was greeting an old friend, "Anytime Mack. You know where to find me if you ever just want to talk."

Mack nodded, "Sure. Maybe, if we see each other again, we could."

"Am I invited too," Vida asked, curious.

Ernie's grin widened, "Everyone's invited to the Juice Bar! I'll never turn a friend away."

"All right, that's enough time wasted," Trevor called. "We need to go through _now_."

The Rangers gathered up behind him, nervous but excited.

"Everyone remember the plan," Alex asked.

The Rangers nodded, each making sure their various objects were attached.

"Any volunteers," Vida snaked.

"I go first," Alex said stepping up, "Trevor, you bring up the rear."

Trevor just nodded mutely.

Alex reached the edge of the darkness that hid the portal. He took a deep breath and charged straight in. The Rangers followed.

Trevor came last and as he stepped through, the cheers of the crowd behind him filled his mind, again muddling his thoughts. What would he do?

* * *

Alex stuck his head around the corner of the gray, shadowy hallway. He didn't see anyone and motioned to his fellow Rangers. They sprinted past him and stopped at the edge of the infinitely tall doorway.

"Are you sure this is the right place," Mack hissed. "We haven't seen _anything_ since we got here!"

"I don't know," Trevor hissed back, "I only ever saw that one room we arrived in. I don't know where we're going!"

"We'll find something," Tommy said before the tension could boil over. "We just have to keep looking."

Trevor glared the two of them but didn't say anything.

They continued walking, passing countless corners and closed doors in complete silence. The atmosphere seemed to demand silence, even the idea of talking seemed to make the walls glare down at them in disapproval. Finally, after walking for almost an hour, they came across a door that was cracked open just enough for them to slip through one by one.

They found themselves in a very strange room. It was well lit and lavishly furnished, the floor covered in a deep carpet. The four walls of the large room were covered in book shelves that were themselves filled with books of all sizes and shapes. Three deep and comfortable looking chairs were angled in front of a warmly crackling fire, the center one smaller than the other two. On the mantelpiece sat an array of odd nicknacks that were important enough to the owner to take such a place of honor. And above them was a tall, oddly realistic portrait in a shining golden frame. A man, a woman and a young girl were sitting together on a worn wooden bench, bright smiles lighting their faces. The scene behind them, instead of a plain wall or wooded area, was half filled with the twinkling stars of a dark midnight sky while the other half had the dazzling light of a noonday sun.

"Look at all these books," Billy said, almost drooling in awe of the knowledge around him. He struggled through the carpet to the nearest bookcase, "Look at these titles!" His hand twitched towards one with more words than a title should be allowed to have but since the book was almost twice as large as he was, he had to settle for just the titles. He blinked and was surprised when the title of the book changed. He leaned closer and it changed again. He leaned away and once more, it was different than before. "Hey, these books change!" He glanced around again and noticed that all of the books had changed, not just their titles but their sizes and shapes and colors.

"There's something weird about this place," Vida said, glaring around at the fluidity of the books. "I don't like it."

"This might be important though," Chad argued. "I mean, did any of our villains have this kind of changing library? I know mine didn't."

Summer, who was staring intently at one particular book, started, "Guys!" The Rangers rushed over to her.

Summer continued staring and didn't immediately acknowledge them.

"What happened," Alex demanded impatiently.

Summer glanced at him, frowning. She returned to staring at the book, "It was just for a moment…I blinked and then it was gone…"

"What," Alex asked again tersely, "was it?"

"The book turned bright yellow and, just for a second, I saw my name written on it."

"Your name," Vida asked, not really believing her.

"Yes," Summer said defensively, "my name! I swear I saw it."

While the others concentrated on seeing if anyone else's name appeared on one of the books, Alex, Tommy and Mack had wandered over to the three chairs. Alex glanced at them then up to the painting, he nodded. Tommy glanced at him, "I suppose you're thinking the same thing?"

Alex scowled but again nodded, "Unfortunately."

"This…could be the most difficult thing we've come up against. Ever."

Alex shrugged, "It's always the most difficult thing ever. But we find a way."

"Yeah but this time, it might actually be true."

Mack, who had been following the conversation with ever increasing confusion, broke in. "Ok, I'm glad you two have a clue what's going on but, hey, throw me a bone? What are you talking about?"

Alex nodded at Tommy who tried to explain. "Take a look at that painting."

Mack did so, glancing it over. He still didn't understand. "I still don't understand."

Alex sighed, "The painting, what's on it?"

"Three people? …A family probably, father, mother, daughter."

"Good," Alex said sarcastically, "Now take a look at that very interesting background."

"Err…it's half dark and half light."

"And do you see that wavy line between the two? The one that is centered perfectly on the little girl?"

Mack nodded.

"Now, take all this information, along with the story Zordon told us the day before we left, and apply it to why Summer's name appeared in this infinite library on a book that's color strangely matched her Ranger color."

"The story about the two points in the universe, one representing all the good and the other representing all the bad?"

Alex waited expectedly, "Yeeeess…"

"Ok, I'm assuming that the kid in the middle is our mysterious enemy?"

Tommy nodded in response to Mack assestment, his eyes roaming the rest of the room. He frowned.

Mack thought really hard. He closed his eyes and put all his processing power into correlating the data. His eyes flashed open. They flew from the painting to the chairs to Summer, "Oh."

"Houston, we have made contact," Alex said.

Mack, his eyes wide, tried to come to terms with the idea, "But…How…This means…"

"Yes, yes and… yes."

Tommy walked away from the pair, who hardly noticed.

He walked past Summer, Vida and Billy, who were excitedly announcing that they had just seen Trip's name on a bright green book, and stuck his head outside of the door. Then he pulled it back in. His frown deepened.

Mack came running over, his face worried. "Guys, I have bad news."

"Oh yea," Vida said with a sigh, "That didn't take long. We find something interesting and then a Red comes and flips over the bad side of the coin. So, Mack, what terrible information did you discover?"

"It's about that Lady we're fighting, the one who turned us into plastic action figures?"

"So we assumed."

"Well," he paused and glanced back at the painting, "Well you know how the Morphing Grid, the source of our powers, comes from the fight between the Noonday Singularity and the Midnight Singularity?"

"Yeah."

"Well….that's kind of who we're fighting."

"Who?"

"The _Morphing Grid_, that's who the Lady really is! She's the child in the middle of that painting up there, of the Noonday Singularity, that lady who's in front of the bright light, and the Midnight Singularity, the man who's backed by all that darkness. That's why we don't have our powers, she took them away from us! We're fighting the _Morphing Grid_ itself. The Morphing Grid is the one who's trying to destroy the universes!"

As Summer, Vida, Mack, Alex and Billy all tried to unravel all the ways in which this was a horrible thing, Tommy spoke up to add his piece. "I really hate to add to this but I just have a question, where did Trevor go?"

Trevor sprinted down the hall, his mind easily running through his personal map of the Lady's almost endless mansion. He had to find her. He had led the Rangers to her biggest secret and, assuming that they were complete idiots, they had figured it out. He could remember the first time he had stumbled into that room and worked it out for himself. He had almost Judy given up right there. He had spent his other dozen or so secret excursions through the portal exploring the rest of the Lady's realm, discoverin her plans and secrets. And now that he had decided not to turn the Rangers over to her, he had to act quickly before they or the other group of Rangers were discovered. Nearing his destination, he slowed to a cautious, alert walk. This was the most used room in the mansion and he had to be sure that she was nowhere around. He peeked around the final corne, eyes scanning the large room ahead. He spotted a problem almost instantly. Instead of the incredibly bright light room being empty and deserted, he saw a large, shining cage on the far side. And inside it were the rest of the Power Rangers. He snarled soundlessly. Those idiots! He slowly crept back down the hall, thinking. So, 95% of the Power Rangers had been capture by the corrupted but still extremely powerful daughter of the focusing point of all good and its equal but polar opposite, that left those six who were just now discovering this as the last hope for all of reality. He sighed, maybe it wasn't to late to switch sides again.

* * *

*AN*

…Bwahaha! Thaaaaaaaat's right ladies and gentleman, the creepy and kind of mean shadowy lady who turned our heroes into tiny plastic things, who broke apart multiple universes and displaced hundreds of fictional characters is really the source of all the Power Rangers powers, the sentient manifestation of the Morphing Grid.

Hehe.

P.S. I know I promised an epic battle, I do promise that its coming. As is what's happening in Arthur's world to the villains and Kimberly.

Ciao till next time!

*CL*

Almost everyone and yet so few at the same time.


	42. Chap 42: Life, the Universe and Villainy

Chapter 42 – Life, the Universe and Villainy

Villains do bad things. It's why they're considered the _bad_ guys. They wake up in the morning and think, 'What planet should I blow up before breakfast?' But, as they are evil, they rarely if ever accomplish their diabolic schemes as they are always forces of good to stop them. So when the hundred or so heroes who had defeated them on a regular basis left, the villains got a little… excited.

Arthur slammed his door shut behind him, blocking out the chaos that had broken loose in his room, and stomped on the tiny hands that reached out beneath the crack. Indiana whistled, "Kid, you're going to have one heck of a mess to clean up once things calm down. I think I saw two of those monsters starting a bonfire with your map pencils."

Arthur sighed, "Yeah but it's been worse in there. It'll be ok."

They heard Arthur's radio screech on and blast out rock music so loud that the door vibrated with the rhythm.

"Uh huh," Indiana said skeptically, "Suuuuuure it will."

Arthur winced, "Um, well, at least Mom and Dad took Sarah to the zoo so we have some time to figure out how to get them back under control."

"You could always just trap them in a big plastic box like a bunch of bugs. The best thing is we wouldn't even have to poke air holes in it. Then we can bury it deep, _deep_ in the back yard."

Arthur considered it, "My dad has a steel storage box in the garage with a really big lock on it. Think that will work?"

Indy nodded, "It's worth a shot. Now about how we're going to trick them into it…."

* * *

Villains, in addition to being evil and losing all the time, know how to throw a party. There was even a section of it in the Super-Villains Handbook. Not that any of them actually read that, they were to evil to need an instruction manual. Of course.

But, back to the party.

"We're freeeeeeee!" Lothor screamed, plunging from the top shelf in a joyous act of stupidity. He hit the floor with a sickening thud but stumbled to his feet with a dazed grin. "Free…"

"Those do-gooders are going off to fight and if there is any justice in this world, they won't be coming back." Flurious finished his work of art with a flourish. Arthur's giant poster of the Dino Thunder Red Ranger was now sporting a wondrous curled mustache and large black circles around where his eyes would be in his mask.

"Isn't that a bit cliché," Ransik asked dryly. "I mean even in the future that's not funny."

Flurious glared at him, hopping down from the ladder of Chillers he had used to reach the tremendous height. He landed on Arthurs bed and leapt towards Ransik, swinging his ice mace at Ransik's head.

Ransik calmly ducked and drove his ungloved hand deep into Flurious's stomach. Flurious fell to the ground, clutching his midsection.

"Chillers," he gasped, "get him!"

Ransik shook his head, his speed and strength sending the icy minions to the soft comforter with their boss. Ransik sniffed and walked to the wall. He reached up and, with a little effort, ripped down the Red Ranger poster. "Their time is over," he declared loudly. He raised his fists in the air, "And our time has begun!"

His dramatic speech went unheard as it was drowned out when Putties found Arthurs stereo and started playing with it. They twisted the strange and magical dials until they found a rhythm they liked. Then they turned the volume up until the vibration of the sound nearly knocked them off the shelf. They started dancing, or at least their approximation of a dance. Putties sprang into the air while Tengas flapped their wings with the rhythm. The lone Tyrannodrone wobbled from side to side, his melted face twitching mechanically.

All across Arthurs room, villains celebrated and cheered. Some elected to dance while others merely smirked malevolently. It was a rare moment of happiness for the villains. Of all the enemies of the Power Rangers, only two weren't enjoying the moment. Rita Repulsa had her hands pressed against her ears, trying desperately to block out the excessive noise. Lord Zedd, standing beside her, was equally as annoyed but only because he had to listen to his wife whine.

"It's giving me a headache," Rita yelled, right in Lord Zedds ear. "Make them stop Zeddy!"

"Stop calling me that," Zedd whined back equally as loud, "it is not a fitting title for a Emperor of Evil!"

Rita either didn't hear him or was choosing to ignore him, "Make it stop, Zeddy, make it stop! Ahhhh!"

Lord Zedd flinched as his ever loud wife let out a high pitched scream of anger.

"Putties, stop that infernal noise! NOW!" Her yell was so loud, so overpowering that it drowned out all other noise in the room. In fear of their mistress, the Putties dutifully stopped the noise. But pulling the power knob out of the machine and with it almost half of the electronics inside. The room plunged into a resentful silence.

Rita nodded, putting her arms down, "Better." She glared around her, "The next person that gives me a headache gets a face full of my wand." She wave it threateningly. Thunder crackled and a bright ball of light appeared on top of Arthurs desk. Rita exchanged wondering glances with Zedd, had their magic come back? She quickly tried to cast the same spell she used to make her monsters grow but it failed. She scowled and turned her attention back to the bright ball of light.

It dimmed for a brief second before flaring brightly, leaving a single pink form behind. Kimberly blinked for a few seconds to clear her eyes. They widened again when she realized that she was back in Arthurs room. And surrounded by villains. All by herself. She suppressed a squeal of surprise.

"It's one of the Pink Rangers," Emperor Gruumm yelled. "Get her!"

Kimberly ran, her speed and agility letting her easily outstrip her opponents. She sprang and twisted and flipped around, over and through the many clawed hands of the evil villains. She reached the door but it was shut and she could not fit through the small crack. She turned just as the crowd of villains formed around her. She glared at them, "Go away."

"Well, if it isn't little Kimmy, the Damsel-in-Distress Ranger," Rita crowed, shoving her way rudely to the front of the crowd. "All alone and without big strong Tommy or any of her friends to come and save her." Rita smirked, "How sad."

Kimberly gulped but kept her fear off her face. As much as she hated her status as most famous 'Damsel in Distress' in the Power Rangers universe, she had to admit that there was some truth to Rita's barb. She was often kidnapped or put in some kind of danger that her friends had to rescue her from. Her friends had never made fun of her penchant for getting into trouble but she had always felt like a burden whenever they had to save her. Again.

Even now a small part of her was waiting for the White Tigerzord to come bursting through the window to save the day.

But Tommy wasn't coming. Her friends weren't coming. No one was coming.

She was going to have to face all of the villains from all of Power Rangers history all by herself.

History. The past.

No, the future.

Her eyes flickered over something and with a flash of insight. With a plan quickly forming, Kimberly raised her chin. But if this was going to work, she was going to have to bluff every last villain here.

Sensing a change in their should be cowering prey, the villains stopped. "What are you doing," Lord Zedd asked, taking a small step to the side so that he was no longer directly in front of her. In his experience an angry Rangers meant something was about to go badly for him.

She had remembered something, something very important about her past. "I wasn't always little miss Always-in-Trouble," she explained, her eyes squarely meeting each villains gaze. "Before I got into the, admittedly bad, habit of yelling for help and waiting for someone to rescue me, I could kick my fair share of monster butt. So let's take a step back in time before Tommy, before my days as Damsel-in-Distress."

"So you're going to try and fight us," Ransik scoffed.

Kimberly shook her head. While she was confident in her fighting abilities and she could make a decent sized dent in the crowd in front of her. But she could not defeat them all. With her somewhat glare still in place, she faced the villains. "I don't have to fight you, you are just going to let me go. Because my team mates are in danger," she continued, overrunning a few of the villains who seemed to want to contradict her declaration. "people who have become my friends are in danger. I am _not_ the Damsel-in-Distress Ranger. I am the Pink Mighty Morphin Power Ranger and I am not going to let the likes of you stop me from saving my friends."

The villains seemed unimpressed by her speech. "You still haven't explained," Rita said, her eyes sparkling dangerously, "why we're just going to let one of the Power Rangers go. One who, I might add, repeatedly called me an ugly witch."

Kimberly's bravado faltered a bit, that line always seemed to work when one of the Red Rangers said it. Her eyes flickered over the crowd again, their faces scowling and merciless. Her bravado faltered a little more but she pressed on. "I'm not going to ask, I am not going to beg." She started walking forward, her steps steady and resolute. She kept eye contact with Ransik the entire time, "Because you're as powerless as I am but the difference between the lot of you and me is that I don't let that stop me. These last few months you sat around whining and complaining while we practiced and trained and tried to deal with the situation." She was in the middle of the crowd now, the villains entranced by her almost angry words, "Even now when your very lives are in danger, you just sit there and make empty threats."

Mesagog stepped in front of her, blocking her path. He leered at her, "Our threats are hardly empty, my dear." He leaned close to her and she tried not to flinch, hadn't he ever heard of personal space? "We could destroy you even without our powers."

Kimberly kept her gaze hard, "No. You. Couldn't. You see that was my whole point. You villains are nothing without your powers while we Power Rangers are more than just Rangers. We don't need powers to fight and we don't need to fight to find ways to accomplish our goals. Right now my goal is to save my friends and," she leaned close to him almost touching his face with hers, "you're in my way."

Mesagog narrowed his eyes and the crowd took a step back, feeling the tension between the two.

Realizing that her plan wasn't working and that Mesagog was ready to start a brawl, Kimberly quickly switched tactics. Lowering her voice enough that the other villains couldn't hear her, she tried a new plan. "I need your help."

Mesagog's eyes widened in surprise but he thankfully kept his voice low, "Why?"

"I think I can get to my friends but I need someone with technical knowhow to fix something for me."

Mesagog repeated his question, "Why?"

Kimberly was beginning to lose her cool, "Because without us defeating the Lady, you stay a little plastic toy forever."

Mesagog chuffed, "We would find a way to return ourselves to our original forms. Eventually."

"And how long are you willing to wait? I know you dinosaurs can live a long time but what use is it if you're a fossil by the time it happens? Help me, help yourself."

Mesagog thought back to his original plan to stop the Dino Rangers. If young Tommy returned to his time without his Green Ranger helmet then once he grew up to become the Tommy Oliver he knew and hated, he wouldn't be much of a threat. And without the true Oliver leading the children, he would succeed without much effort. So if he helped this Pink Ranger return them to their proper times and dimensions, he would win. From there, now that he knew of their existences, he could cross to other times and dimensions. All humans would be destroyed and dinosaurs would rule all times! The only problem was convincing the other villains to go along with this, at least the helping the Pink Ranger part. They would no doubt fight him once he started trying to conquer their times but helping a Ranger was paramount to a betrayal of everything evil in the villains minds. He grinned, showing the tiny human his many sharp teeth, "Very well, human. I will assist you." He raised his voice, "This Pink Ranger is not to be destroyed." He paused then amended, "Until she gets back to her own time, that is."

This declaration caused a bit of a stir. Villains surged forward, all yelling their disapproval. Rita and Zedd were among the loudest. After smacking her way to the Ranger and her new 'friend', Rita planted herself directly in front of Mesagog. She glared at him, "Who died and made you boss?" She pointed her wand at Kimberly, "This _insignificant_ human has defied me too many times to just let her go free. She must pay!"

Mesagog stared at her levelly, silent. Kimberly decided to follow suit.

Rita was not used to the silent treatment in any form. She hated being ignored more than she hated the Rangers. "Do not ignore me!"

Mesagog simply stood there, his clawed hand clasped behind his back.

After a moments thought and an informing exchange of glances, Lord Zedd realized that Mesagog, who was just as evil as he was, must have some sort of equally evil plan. There was no way he would help the Rangers out of the _goodness_ of his fossilized heart. He stepped in to stop his wife, trusting Mesagogs untrustworthiness, "Rita, darling, leave the little dino alone. He's not worth it."

Rita switched glaring targets, "But Zeddy, he's protecting that Pink Ranger!"

Zedd shook his head, exchanging a thankful glance with Mesagog, "Come with me and I'll explain everything, I promise."

Rita looked between the two, now understanding that something more was going on. She glared at Kimberly one last time then let herself be led away.

After Rita left, a few other villains tried to repeat the process. They stormed up to Mesagog, demanding to know what insanity had taken a hold of him but Mesagog simply stood there, taking their verbal assaults. Only Ransik seemed to understand that something was up. He joined Rita and Lord Zedd in their heated discussion on the other side of the room. Eventually the villains grew tired of their tirades and stormed away.

Kimberly was equal parts impressed and intimidated by Mesagog's unruffled boredom during the villains attack. She glanced at him to find him looking at her.

"Well, Miss Hart? You're plan is…?"

Kimberly nodded at a small dark shape that was lying untouched in the corner of Arthurs room.

Mesagog glanced at it, "A toy space ship. Madam, I hope you understand that I have no qualms with killing teenagers. You had better explain."

Kimberly winced, "Well, it's just an idea I had. I mean, I'm not exactly Miss-techno or whatever but I know from talking with the In Space Rangers that they think that's really their ship, the Megaship. Only, it's broken."

Mesagog raised a scaley eyebrow, "I, while a true genius in bio-technology, am not an expert in spaceship technology."

Kimberly wilted, her plan breaking apart before her eyes, "You mean you don't know how to fix it?"

Mesagog turned his head to see that Ransik, Rita and Zedd were staring at them with evil grins. Good, they had figured it out. "I do not," he admitted, "But I know a few who might."

* * *

*AN*

Sorry this is so late guys, it's been…interesting lately.

BTW, did anyone else totally love the team-up(ok it wasn't really the whole team but that's beside the point) that aired yesterday? Maybe that was just me loving every second that the RPM Rangers(ok, just one Ranger but it was better than nothing) were back?

As for the title…it was chapter _42_, it had to be done;).

*CL*

Kimberly Hart – Pink Mighty Morphin Ranger

Rita Repulsa – Mighty Morphin villain

Lord Zedd – Mighty Morphin villain

Ransik – Time Force villain

Mesagog – Dino Thunder villain

Flurious – Operation Overdrive villain

Emperor Gruumm – SPD villain


	43. Chapter 43: Shadows, Light and In Betwee

Chapter 43 – Shadows, Light and In Between

Trevor couldn't believe he was doing this. It was stupid. It was irrational. It could get him killed.

But he was doing it anyways.

He scowled as he started turning the small mirror. There was a bright flash of red light as the portals connection to what the Rangers had so arrogantly called the Mish Mash World. He had always referred to it as Trevorland. He stopped turning it for a second as he reflected on the world he had just cut himself off from. It actually hurt, the thought that he couldn't go back. A physical pain.

He almost wished he was still a soulless, emotionless minion like he had been before this whole thing happened. He wondered if he would go back to that when they went back to their own worlds and times. He kind of hoped he did.

It would make the tearing pain as he started pushing on the portal again go away. A second later, a green light flashed, meaning that he had established a connection to some other world. He ignored it and continued pushing. Three red flashes and two green ones later, he stopped. The portal glowed white. Beyond was the only person that could save the Rangers now.

He had hoped that the other Rangers would have defeated the Morphing Grid by the time that he and his Rangers, he cringed at that thought, arrived. He knew it was a long shot but they were Power Rangers, they did the impossible by simply existing. But he could tell by the oppressive silence and persistent, almost improbable darkness, that they had not. So he had done his part to give his Rangers, he winced again, an important insight into their enemy and gone off to find help.

If that help was even really there at all.

All he had to go on were rumors and whispers caught through the slits underneath doors and deduced from innocently asked questions whose answers were not as important as the _way_ they were answered.

The white portal waited.

Trevor couldn't believe he was doing this. It was stupid. It was irrational. It could get him killed.

But he was doing it anyways.

Billy loved to know things and if he didn't know something, he loved to search for the knowledge and work to obtain it. So when he had to opportunity to read a book that had the possibility of holding everything he would ever do, to say that he was a bit excited would be an understatement. His hands shook as they grabbed the edge of the giant bright blue front cover.

"Are you sure this is a good idea," Alex asked seriously. "Knowing your future can be a terrible thing and who knows what's in a book written by the Morphing Grid."

Billy shook his head, not caring how dangerous this could be, the temptation was too much. Oh, what he could learn! With more than a little effort, he tossed the cover open, taking in a breath to read what he saw. The breath was exhaled unused. It was blank! He flipped through the pages but there was nothing written on them, "It's blank!" He moved out of the way so that Chad could stand there, "See!"

Shrugging, Chad flipped though a few pages at random then unceremoniously turned to the last page. It had just one word written on it, _Beginnings_

The six Rangers blinked.

"Well," Tommy said, breaking the confused silence, "I guess I was kind of expecting a bit more, Billy. But what do you think it means?"

Billy sighed in disappointment, glaring at the one word. It mocked him with its confusing simplicity. "Imagine what could have been in there," he lamented. "Everything! Anything!"

Vida, who had found her book a few minutes ago, took this as her cue to open hers as well. She walked over to the side and shoved open the cover. After a second's contemplation, she frowned in disappointment. "Mines blank too." She flipped to the last page, "But it has something different written at the back." She read it aloud, "Balance." She sighed, "Really, balance? That's the best the Morphing Grid can come up with?"

The Rangers exchanged glances, wondering if any of the sarcastic responses they had just come up with would get them into trouble, but before anyone could voice an opinion the room began to shake. Books, with their shifting covers, began falling in deadly waves off the tall shelves. The Rangers scrambled for cover, diving underneath the three chairs and watching in horror as the room fell apart. Seconds passed and the shaking grew more intense. They began to hear a high pitched whine that only grew louder and louder. The shaking grew even worse until the picture above the mantle twisted and turned with in a violent dance. The whine finally reached them and they saw an incredibly bright flash of light race past the open door. The light faded, the whine grew fainter as it gained distance and the shaking lessened until the room was once again still.

Mack risked sticking his head out from under the chairs. He looked around at the mess, the almost giant piles of color changing books looking like small mountains. "It's clear," he reported, taking a few careful steps towards the door, "Come on, I think we should follow that thing." He paused and listened carefully, "I can still hear it, barely."

"Um, how about we don't follow the big scary ball of screaming terror," Vida said slowly. "I like that plan."

"But knowing our luck," Chad rationalized, "that's the way our friends are. We might as well check it out."

The Rangers nodded, each one thinking of how their friends were always in the directions of the giant monsters, huge explosions or general mayhem. They sighed in resignation.

Alex took the lead, moving quickly over the mounds of oddly sized books, "Come on Rangers, our friends await!"

As they entered the hallway and started following Mack, who could supposedly hear the whine of the light, Tommy glanced down the way they had come from. Where the portal back to the Mish Mash Town was. Had Trevor gone back? Tommy could only hope that he had simply turned coward instead of turning bad.

"What do you think they've been doing," Billy asked Tommy. "Beyond that unknown high velocity light anomaly, we haven't heard or seen anything regarding them."

Summer snorted, "Yeah, but knowing my team, they're goofing off somewhere." Her face grew nostalgic, "Probably boasting about their cars…"

* * *

"One!" Legs tensed.

"Two!" Knees bent.

"Three!" Hundreds of feet leapt into the air, the same number of hands reaching up. With a loud zap and more than a few shouts of surprise and pain, the Rangers fell back to the ground.

After letting the electricity dissipate, Shane glared at Dr. K, "You were wrong."

Dr. K returned the expression, "It was only a theory."

"Well, now we know," Cassie said to stop a fight. "The cage can take over a hundred points of contact at once."

"Yeah, let's not try that again," Ethan said, his hand still twitching. "Anybody else got a bright idea?"

As if on cue, one of the doors burst open and an incredibly bright light soared through.

Ethan stared at his hands in shock and a little fear, "What is this strange power I have?"

The light flew, screaming, to the four rings in the center of the room. It hovered there, its presence, light and the intense sound that accompanied it, making the Rangers take in involuntary step backwards. Carter looked up for the first time in over an hour, staring intently at the light. His face filled with bright hope, overpowering the deep despair the Lady had inflicted on him.

Zordon gasped in shock. This on its own made the Rangers nervous but when combined with the strange glowing light and the severity of their predicament, the Rangers nervousness and dread was transformed into stubbornness and defiance. They regained their step backwards and looked up.

"Who are you," Jason asked loudly, punctuating his words.

"What are you doing here," Andros asked.

"And do you think you could let us out," Leo asked. "Please?" The other two Red Rangers glanced at him. He shrugged, "It doesn't hurt to be polite."

The light pulsed gently. "My name is Callé, but you probably know me as the Daylight Singularity." A small figure dropped down from the ball of light, one that Trent recognized by the very familiar uniform. "This little one informed me that my original plan had failed."

Claire blushed and looked away. She had been given such awesome power to save her friends. But she had hesitated, lost confidence in her new found powers and gone along with what the other Rangers had planned instead of the plan Daylight had worked so hard on.

"With this new knowledge, I determined that it was necessary to come out." The light turned, its bright beam settling on the console that controlled the rings, "and face my husband." Her light flared brightly, "For Maggie!"

The room darkened, the shadows lengthened and deepened. The Daylight Singularity's light was subdued enough that once again, the only light in the room came from the Ranger's cage. The Rangers heard a deep, bone chilling chuckle.

"Wife," a similarly dark voice said smoothly. "It has been… ages." Out of the small glass container under the console, a dense wisp of darkness began to ooze. It pooled on the floor, widening, deepening. Finally it too floated upwards, a large ball of all encompassing blackness.

The Daylight Singularity sniffed regally, her light pushing the shadows back slightly, "It has been just over a decade. Stop being so dramatic."

The dark voice hissed, "I should have destroyed you, witch. Banishment was too easy."

The arguing pair was interrupted by a quiet, hesistant voice, "…Mom?" The Rangers turned and saw a young teen standing uncertainly in the doorway bathed in both shadows and light. "Is that really you?"

"Honey," Daylight exclaimed, moving towards the girl but Midnight rushed in front of her.

"Stay away from her," he shouted, "we don't need you anymore!"

Daylight screamed, Midnight roared. They slammed into each other, two enormous balls of pure energy fighting with every scrap of their power. They knocked into walls, the ceiling and floor. Through the columns and console.

Light flashed, darkness flared. Shadows and daylight fought for dominance and the two orbs clashed.

The Rangers noticed that each time the shadows flickered over the girl, she turned into shadows herself. Her light brown colored hair darkened and her face vanished into it. Her arms and legs grew longer as she aged into a young adult. She became the Shadow Lady, a creature who felt only hatred and anger.

But when the light fell on her, the shadows burst apart. Her light brown hair turned pure white and her face vanished into it. Her arms and legs grew shorter as she aged into a young child. She became the Radiant Lady, a creature who felt only love and happiness.

This process was repeated dozens of times as the darkness and light battled. The little girl sat curled into a ball, her hands over her ears and a look of extreme pain every time she was forcibly transformed.

"She is mine," Midnight declared. "Together we will remake the universe. One of darkness and chaos!"

"She is my daughter," Daylight screamed. "Together we will rebuild the universe as it should be, one of light and perfection!"

The girl crawled closer to the Rangers cage, transforming every few seconds. She looked desperately at the Rangers, her hand outstretched. "Stop them, please," she pleaded, "Stop them from fighting!" Her hand glowed alternately black and white and the cage crumbled.

The Rangers sprinted away from where they had been kept for the past few hours. Plans raced through their minds. Instinctively, the group split in half. The Mighty Morphin, Alien, Zeo, Turbo, In Space, Lost Galaxy, Time Force, Wild Force and Lightspeed Rescue teams ran towards Midnight, dodging the wide bolts of deadly shadows. The Ninja Storm, Dino Thunder, SPD, Mystic Force, Operation Overdrive, Jungle Fury, RPM and Samurai teams sprinted towards Daylight, dodging the needle thin bolts of blinding light.

As they ran, they began to feel the Power flowing through them again. Adam looked back to see that the Lady's hands were stretched towards them, her eyes closed. A flickering mist flowed around them, strangely allowing them to access the Morphing Grids power once more.

Or at least occasionally. Just as the shadows and light flickered in and out, so did their powers. One second, they were brimming with Power and then it was gone. Again.

Maggie noticed two figures lying prone on the ground. Trey of Courage and Eric, missing two thirds of himself and mortally wounded respectively. Her hand hovered over them, flashing white over Eric then black over Trey.

Feeling re-energized and whole again, Eric leapt to his feet, "That's right, I'm back!" He ran towards his teammates.

Trey, on the other hand, twisted and turned in pain. While the Morphing Grid's white light was used to heal through gentle thoughts and an eternal calm, her black half was not as painless. Black flame rolled across his body, centering on his heart and head. But his injury was not something that could be so easily healed. And the more the flames tried to heal him, the more it accelerated his demise.

Finally, Maggie noticed this and put a stop to it. Trey fell still. Gold Jason ran up, having seen his friends distress. Trey was in no shape for a battle and he could not just leave him in the middle of one either. He glanced at the Morphing Grid, still fluctuating painfully through her three states. Radiant then Maggie then Shadow. She could not be trusted, he reasoned. In her Shadow Lady persona, she had acted to destroy all realities and he had never met her other two sides. He knelt down and hoisted Trey onto his back. Slowly and carefully, he ran over towards the Zeo team. He might not be able to fight with Trey on his back. but he could support his friends.

Maggie watched him go silently.

Glancing at his hands and their flickering feelings of power, Ryan muttered, "I guess we'll just have to work with what we've got." He neared Daylight, the giant orb floating high above him. Bright white lightning shattered the floor around him but he glared up at it, "Yeah, we can do this."

Once all the tiny figures had gathered, the Rangers all exchanged glances. Some looked strained, others somewhat excited, still more were simply weary. But despite their range of emotions, they acted as one. With a loud series of shouts and screams, tiny figures leapt into the air, their power giving them unnatural strength and speed. Shadows and light blazed briefly and then blinked out.

The girl stared around her at the empty room in confusion. Where had they gone?

* * *

"Did everyone just vanish," Summer asked to point out the obvious. She received a few exasperated glances but Vida nodded.

"Yep, they did," she agreed.

"All that work getting here so quickly," Alex complained, "and they just disappear! I'm starting to think they don't want us to catch up."

"At least we know they got here ok," Billy commented quietly.

"Yeah, but where did they go?"

Chad stopped staring at the place that his friends had disappeared from and noticed that the room was not completely empty. "Who's that girl? Is she a Ranger?"

Tommy recognized her from the painting in the library. He took at deep breath, "That's the Morphing Grid, I believe. The source of our power and the reason that we're in this mess."

"Oh."

The girl noticed them and stared just as intently as they were staring at her. She realized who they were and grinned, "Power Rangers!" She climbed carefully to her feet and wobbled over to them.

"Um, hi," Chad said somewhat nervously.

"Hi, my name's Maggie!" The girls grin widened as she squatted down and reached out, "Wow, you are really realistic toys!"

"Yeah," Vida said slowly, "we're not toys."

Billy shook his head, "Not entirely, anyway."

Maggie stopped, "Oh." She paused, thinking. She glanced around her and her blinks became more rapid. "Um, what happened?" Her voice rose in pitch, "Where are my parents?" Her wide, scared eyes turned back to the Rangers, "What are mini Power Rangers doing here and where did the other mini Power Rangers go?"

"Calm down," Alex demanded, using his command voice.

Maggie sat back on her heels, her eyes narrowed. "Alex, I respect all Power Rangers for what you've done but do not talk to me in that tone of voice. I have earned at least some respect." She took a deep breath and sighed then sat down on the floor, her legs crossed. "Please, tell me what's going on? I just wake up to see my parents fighting and me surrounded by tons of small superheroes."

Tommy wasn't sure where to start, he had thought that the Shadow Lady and the Morphing Grid were one in the same but looking at the teen in front of him, he didn't think he was right. But she should know what was going on. "What is the last that you remember before we got here?"

The girl thought about it for a second, "Well…"

* * *

*AN*

Yeah, I know! I'm sorry! It's been a month since the last update and I am sorry. But hey, I promised that this wouldn't become a dead fic and I shall keep that promise!

Merry Christmas and and Happy Holidays!

*CL*

Trent - 'soul-less' White Dino Ranger Clone

Billy Cranston - Mighty Morphin Blue

Tommy – Red Turbo

Chad Lee – Blue Lightspeed Rescue

Alex – Red Time Force

Vida Rocca – Pink Mystic Force

Mack Hartford – Red Operation Overdrive

Summer Landsdown – Yellow RPM

Shane – Red Wind Ranger – Ninja Storm

Dr. K – RPM Mentor

Cassie – Pink Turbo Ranger

Ethan – Blue Dino Thunder Ranger – had a running gag of saying things and then having them happen

Trent - the actual White Dino Ranger

Zordon – Mighty Morphin Mentor

Jason – Red Mighty Morphin Ranger

Andros – Red In Space Ranger

Leo – Red Galaxy Ranger

Ryan – Titanium Ranger – Lightspeed Rescue

Daylight – Daylight Singularity – meeting point of all things good

Midnight – Midnight Singularity – meeting point of all things evil

Maggie – Morphing Grid – Meeting point of darkness and light – Source of the Power Rangers Powers


	44. Chapter 44:In Brightest Day In Darkest N

Chapter 44 – In Brightest Day, In Darkest Night

Birds chirped happily, a gentle wind blew through the trees, rustling the leaves. Lying on the trunk of a particularly full tree, Sky opened his eyes and smiled. What a beautiful day. The bright green grass was soft and the sun warm.

Everything was perfect.

At the nearby pond, a few of his friends and teammates were splashing happily. Others were running through the open field tossing footballs or baseballs or kicking around a soccer ball. Laughter floated through the entire area.

Everything was perfect.

"Hey Sky!" Emily, one of the new Samurai Rangers, ran up, smiling. "You want to join the game?" She pointed at a group who were playing a very intense game of tag.

Sky glanced at them, "Any rules?"

Emily blinked, "Um, tag and you're it."

Sky stood and rolled his shoulders, "Well, we'll see if we can make things more organized."

They ran down the hill to join the group. Sky was tagged almost instantly as he had stopped running to try to make up more rules. He growled in frustration and chased after Mia, who was laughing loudly.

Daylight brightened and everything was perfect.

* * *

Turbo Ashley had always been optimistic. She liked to try to find the good things in any bad situation. And, in her defense, she was very good at it. When she had first learned that her friends were actual, real live Power Rangers, she had been bolstered by the fact that she knew the people protecting her and trusted them. And when she stepped forward and _became_ a Power Ranger, she had at first doubted her ability to fill the yellow shoes Tanya had left behind. But she had kept fighting, confident that she would grow into her abilities. And she had. Optimistic and resilient, that was her in a nutshell.

Sweet, little Justin went first, falling to a grotesque monster that was simply too powerful for him.

Everything was going wrong.

Then Carlos fell, to a blast that he should have been able to shrug off harmlessly.

Everything was going wrong.

She fought her own monster desperately, her eyes glued to the two unmoving forms. This wasn't happening, she desperately thought. This couldn't be happening.

T.J., bastion on strength and skill, was taken high up into the air by one of the larger monsters with wings. Ashley lost track of them in the battle but she heard the loud thud and Cassie's cry of anger.

Ashley spotted Cassie through the chaos, battling four monsters three times her size. Her face was flush with anger and desperation. Ashley started towards her, shoving, kicking, leaping over and around any unfortunate monster that got in her way.

She was too late.

Midnight deepened and everything was going wrong.

* * *

Perfection was light and all things must be perfect.

Daylight watched the little Rangers playing and was glad. In the worlds she created, everything was perfect. Her trees were perfect, her grass was perfect, even the molecules that made up the wind were perfect. And now these humans, formerly so mistake prone and chaotic, had joined her perfect garden of dreams.

But just as she thought that, something went wrong. One of the little Rangers – Bridge of the Space Patrol Delta- was breaking away from his perfect world. He fell from his little globe of light and into her own world very similar to the one the child Sky inhabited. She watched curiously as the child wandered away, gazing in wonder at the perfection around him. He admired a perfect stream that flowed through her perfect meadow and splashed some of the perfect water that bubbled through it.

But then, as he was walking through her perfect forest, he was distracted by a bird that had taken flight in front of him. Walking without watching what was in front of him, he clumsily bumped into a tree and fell over. He had chipped a small piece of bark off the tree and squashed a large section of the grass.

He had ruined her perfection.

Daylight tisked and 'corrected' him. Bridge cried out in pain and twitched violently, collapsing to the ground. When he straightened, he was smiling blankly, the right corner of his mouth still twitching. He turned around and headed back to the group of little spheres and slipped back into his own little world.

Daylight made the grass grow and regrew the bark on the tree after a short period of time, everything was back to the way it should be. Daylight sat back and admired perfection. All things _must_ be perfect.

* * *

Midnight was a being of pure darkness and there was no softness to his world, no comforting oblivion to slip away into. He twisted the Ranger's minds, forcing them to live through horrible illusion after illusion. Of all the wicked things his daughter had dreamed up while under his 'influence', this was his favorite. The ability to make his enemies suffer without actually damaging them. Physically, anyways.

There was a common thread that ran through each of these so called _Power_ Rangers. Well, more than one, if he was to be honest but there was only one he was interested in. Only one that could come even close to breaking these creatures.

They weren't all humans, so it wasn't Earth. They weren't even from the same time period, so there was no one event. No, what held each one of these Rangers in place, standing in between him and all-consuming darkness, was each other. Friends. Teammates. They clung to each other so tightly that even separated, he could still see the strings tying them together, tiny threads of burning light in his perfect darkness.

But if you cut those strings…

If you leave a Ranger alone…

Well, all things would be chaos.

* * *

Everything was perfect. As she watched her students practice their magic, with her family around her, Udonna felt nothing but peace.

Everything was perfect.

She looked up at the sky and watched a pair of weather wizards twist the clouds into fanciful shapes. She smiled as she recognized Nick's face reinterpreted in rolling waves of vapor. Across the open, grassy field, Leanbow was showing Nick how to properly hold his hands for a spell. She watched them with pride. Family had always been important to her and now hers was complete again. Even though she couldn't remember why it had ever been broken in the first place. This concerned her a little but over all, she was happy just being happy.

What was wrong with perfection, she wondered to herself?

What was wrong with just letting things be the way they were?

She shook her head.

There was nothing wrong with perfect, if you'd truly earned it and there was nothing wrong with letting things be.

She had earned this happiness and she was going to enjoy it.

* * *

Kai kept fighting, he didn't know what else to do. His friends were gone, fallen in battle around him. He had watched as Terra Venture burned and could do nothing about it. He had even seen Earth drift away, its orbit shifted from where it normally was. It too would burn soon.

Everything he knew was gone, everything he loved and everything he had worked so hard to protect.

He felt angry, at the world, at the universe, at fate. Everything had gone wrong.

So he fought.

The monster attacks almost never ended. Well, they wouldn't since he had purposefully sought out one of the roughest planets in the galaxy.

Right now he was fighting a nine foot boar headed monster and his seven foot rhino headed buddy.

He was enjoying the fight, it was all that made him feel alive anymore. He laughed as he ducked under a very slow moving punch, "Ha, your mother could throw a punch better than that!"

"Stop talking about my mother," the boar insisted. "And take back what you said, she is not a pig!"

The rhino blinked and looked at his friend, "Yes she was."

The boar cuffed him on the shoulder, his voice rough, "Shut it!"

Kai laughed loudly again, "Come on fellas, are you just going to sit there or are we going to finish our little dance?"

The boar started towards him again when one of the other patrons walked up to him and whispered in his ear. The boar listened patiently then nodded, when he looked back at Kai, his wide face was drooping with sadness. He shook his head, "I will not fight you, Power Ranger." He motioned to his friend and they sat back down at the bar.

Kai frowned angrily, "Why? Why won't you fight me?"

The boar didn't look at him when he answered, "We are sorry for your losses."

Kai couldn't believe it. He was being pitied, the creature with a _boar_ for a head felt _sorry_ for him.

He dropped to the floor, the fullness of his situation hitting him. He was Kai, of Earth, of Terra Venture, of the Lost Galaxy Power Rangers. He had fought monsters that would make even the toughest fighters wet their pants in fright. He had conquered his fears, brushed aside indescribable pain. He was Kai… and he was being pitied.

He felt the sympathetic gazes of the other creatures and they burned him. Because now he had to acknowledge the truth of his world.

Everything was gone and nothing would ever bring it back.

* * *

Something was wrong, Dr. K could feel it. Some cosmic cog had gotten caught and now the universe was off balance. Because everything was perfect and it bothered her.

She watched Ziggy toss the spinning ball to Dillon who then tossed it to his sister, Tenaya. They were laughing, having fun. There was absolutely nothing wrong and it _bothered_ her.

Nothing had ever gone so right in her life, never. Even before Alphabet Soup, something was always wrong and after, well, while it was certainly better, it was far from perfect. But now… it was. Absolutely perfect.

She played with her engagement ring, her eyes glued to one of the players. Ziggy really did look cute in green. He caught her looking and grinned, striking a few funny poses. Dr. K blushed and glared at him, hiding a smile. To her amusement, Ziggy missed the ball and it bounced off his forehead. He rubbed the spot and started complaining to Dillon but Dillon just pointed and laughed.

Dr. K did too but much more subtlety.

Scott and Summer joined the rest of her, and it still felt weird to say it, friends. The word sent a thrill of happiness through her, one strong enough to push aside her disturbed thoughts.

The game switch from catch to keep away and from there devolved into some sort of race around the park.

Dr. K sat under a shady tree, the true sun itself beaming down through its leaves with no enormous glass dome interfering with its bright light, and watched. She felt content and it bothered her.

* * *

"Don't, please don't say that."

Kimberly sneered down at him, "Why not, it's true."

Jason wrapped his arm around her, "Yeah Tommy, just let it go. Why don't you just go back to Rita, I'm sure _she_ want's you around." With that said, he pulled Kimberly tighter and they walked away.

Trini and Billy came by next. Trini looked at him with scorn, "Really, Tommy, really? Are you really that pathetic?"

Even Billy seemed to have nothing but hatred for him, "I believe that he is Trini. I suppose that this entire exercise was in vain. Go back to Rita, Tommy. You are no longer welcome here." They too walked away, ignoring his pleas to come back.

Zack didn't even speak to him as he sped by on his skateboard, his eyes flickered to him and his mouth tightened but he said nothing. Tommy tried to grab him as he went by but he missed clumsily, his strength and speed having disserted him.

Finally, Alpha 5 and Zordon came to say their piece. Tommy felt Zordon's disappointment like a constant, icy hand had grabbed him. "Green Ranger, I hearby strip you of your powers. You have don't nothing but bring shame to them and your team. You have no right to call yourself a Power Ranger. Return to Rita, that is your place, as one of her monsters."

Alpha 5 waddled over to him, "Ay ay ay, Tommy, good-bye." Then they too vanished into the darkness.

He sat alone for a while, his mind blank and his heart broken. Then he heard an all too familiar cackle. He turned around to see Rita, Empress of All Evil, beckoning to him, "Come Tommy, my little monkey boy, time to go take over Earth!"

Tommy looked down at himself and saw that instead of his Green Ranger uniform, he was wearing something that looked eerily like a green Goldar costume. He even had the oversized wings. Feeling like he had no other choice, Tommy hobbled after Rita as his friends appeared on both sides of him to watch him in anger and disappointment.

* * *

*AN*

It's important to note that in these little vignettes, the only 'real' person is the person whose point of view it is. Everyone and everything else is an illusion.

I've always thought that the later seasons(in general) were darker than the earlier seasons(not including In Space, Time Force and/or Lost Galaxy as those are relatively dark). And from this opinion came the idea of the 'lighter' seasons having to face something truly dark while the 'darker' seasons have to face losing something truly perfect.

And I tried to keep the proud tradition of 'never say die' alive for this chapter which makes it a challenge to strongly imply death instead of outright saying it.

And yes, I ship Dr. K and Ziggy probably harder than I've ever shipped anything in my life;).

*AN2*

I have updated the previous chapter since I realized that I left some things out. Sorry about that.


	45. Chapter 45: Journeys and Dreams

Chapter 45 – Journeys and Dreams

There was a reason that these villains were so feared, Kimberly had to remember that. They were evil and vial, they were selfish and cruel. They had caused the suffering of entire planets, of entire galaxies and been the scourge of all who met them. But she couldn't help but chuckle when, after Rita had taken a very undignified fall after making a particularly cringe worthy speech, Mesagog had leaned over and whispered, "And that's how the mighty fall, with an ear piercing shriek and to thunderous laughter."

Lord Zedd helped his screeching wife up while the rest of the assembled villains laughed without restraint.

Kimberly had been hoping for a quick and stealthy exit but Rita was not one to let an opportunity to give a dramatic speech pass by.

They had finally finished repairing the Space Rangers ship and were about to launch. Apparently it had not been that difficult to do but they had insisted on making some extra modifications to the interior.

Rita and Zedd brushed passed her, Mesagog and Ransik, muttering angrily between each other.

Kimberly stifled another laugh and saw Ransik do the same.

Mesogog and Ranisk boarded next with little fanfare, nothing more than a level sneer and sharp march up the ramp.

Kimberly was left last, alone in front of her enemies and about to embark on a quest to save her friends with four others. It was madness, all of it.

She felt a grin lift her face, but then, when was it. It was all madness anyways. If anything, she shouldn't be all that surprise at the situation but she always seemed to be.

She realized that the villains were all staring at her and felt a little flustered. Should she say something?

If Tommy or Jason were here, they would say something brave and defiant. If Trini or Billy were here, they would say something smart and condescending. If Zack were here, he would either start dancing or try to make friends with them all.

But herself…what would she do?

Well, that was the problem, she realized. Who cared what these villains thought? Her friends were in danger and needed her help! As if to spur on her thoughts, the ramp began to raise behind her. She gave the villains a casual goodbye wave and sprinted up the ramp, it slammed shut behind her, just barely missing her. She scowled, who put Rita in charge of the controls?

She was able to add another memory to her weirdness album when she reached the control room. They had repainted, redecorated and rearranged the room. Instead of smooth, silvery surfaces, everything was black and shadowy. The consoles had been removed and replaced with five tall columns of darkened stone, each with a colored gem glowing on top.

Ransik stood in the center in front of a dull, gray stone. He had polished his armor so that even in the dull lighting, it shone. Mesagog stood to his right, his stone a gloomy green stone pulsing on the column in front of him. He glanced at her as she entered and grinned at her, all of his terrifyingly sharp teeth showing. To Ransik's left stood Lord Zedd, his stone a deep red. He ignored her as she walked past him.

Of course they had put her at the front, next to Rita. She could almost feel the three male villains amusement.

Rita had watched her since she came into the room, her eyes narrowed. She stood in front of her own column with its dark gold, almost brown, stone. She was scowling, which was nothing new.

Kimberly took her place, her own gem glowing a bright, lively pink. She could feel every set of eyes in the room on her. She tried not to hunch over. She kept her shoulders straight, "Are we ready to go?"

"Oooo, look at the Ranger," Rita cowed, "she thinks she's in charge! How adorable!"

"Oh, be quiet Rita," Ransik snapped, "don't you dare start a fight with Pinky. I don't want to listen to you two whine the entire way there."

Kimberly glanced at Ransik with an annoyed frown, she didn't whine.

Ransik scowled at her, "You got something to say, _Pinky_?"

Once again, Kimberly realized the position she was in; alone, with four fearsome foes facing her. Villains, Tommy had once told her, are predators of a kind. Show them fear and they will eat you alive. She had already tried that tactic once but it had backfired when Mesagog had seen through her bluff. She needed something new but she couldn't just let that question go without an answer. If she went on the offensive, Ransik would probably just react like Mesagog had and if she backed off, they would be see her as a weak Damsil-In-Distress again.

So she did what she had always done in a no win situation. She turned completely around, her eyes wide and watering, "But I only asked a question."

Ransik reacted the way most guys do to the possibility of tears, he took a full step backwards and looked away, coughing.

Mesagog shook his head, amused and cleared his throat. "To answer the original question, yes, we are ready. We just need to know where to go."

Kimberly blinked. "Where…where to go?"

Mesagog rubbed his cold-blooded forehead. "Generally, yes.'

Kimberly felt embarrassed. Sure, she had thought about using the space ship to fly to her friends but she hadn't actually thought of how to get back there. She frowned, if only she were Trini or Billy, they would know how. They always did.

But she was only herself, the poor Damsel-in-Distress Ranger.

The villains watched her, their faces growing more smug and superior with each passing second.

Kimberly turned away and stared at the glowing pink gem. She didn't know where it had come from but it was comforting in a strange way. It reminded her of her Zord, the Pterodactyl Zord. It reminded her of all those long, difficult battles. And she remembered a time before she had become the Damsel-in-Distress Ranger. She had just been a part of the team, fierce and assertive. But then she had been captured that first time and that intense feeling of relief when her friends saved her had been almost overpowering. After that, it had almost become a patter, get in danger and her friends would bail her out. She didn't look for it but it became a habit that was hard to break out of.

But there was no one to rescue her now. She was in a desperate pact with her enemies who could just as easily turn on her as help her. She was lost in an alternate dimension with no idea how to find her way to her friends.

The pink gem began to glow brighter.

It was time to step outside of habit, she decided, time to remember what it was like to be the Pink Power Ranger, swift and strong and confident.

As Kimberly's self-confidence grew, so too did the brightness of the pink gem. It twisted and turned in its mount until it broke free of its bindings and floated up into the air.

It cawed, its pitch and tone reminding her again of her Zord. It cawed again and floated around the room, circling each one of the villains and landing in Kimberly's outstretched hand. The glow from the gem raced down her hand, engulfing her in a blink of an eye.

It filled her with purpose, it filled her with knowledge and it filled her with Power. She knew exactly where to go to find a very rare wormhole that would lead from this world to the world that her friends were on. It was almost as if someone was whispering in her ear but whenever she tried to focus on that voice, it shied away as if scared.

Rita looked at the glowing Power Ranger and tapped her little golden gem, "Does mine do that too?"

Ransik and Lord Zedd exchanged a glance and fired up the engines, slowly maneuvering up and out of the open window. They knew that look that was slowly dawning on Kimberly's face, she was about to pull something wild out of the air and break down everything in her way. They had seen it before when their seemingly perfect plans would fail for the strangest reasons.

After studying the strange change that had overcome the Pink Ranger for a few seconds, logging it away for future reference, and seeing that his compatriots were busy and distracted, Mesogog quietly excused himself from the control room. He easily and quickly navigated his way through the long, dark hallways to one of the many rooms. He knocked twice on the door and the door slid open an inch, "You were right, the Ranger found a way."

"They always do," a voice hissed. "We'll be ready when we land. Are you sure you don't want us to act now?"

Mesogog considered it but shook his head, "I am still unsure what is guiding the Ranger, I would rather not risk facing something unknown while we are in transit. Wait here, you'll know when I call for you."

Mesogog started to slide the door shut again but a gloved hand stopped it, "And our price?"

Mesogog nodded, the lie sliding easily off his tongue, "You shall have it as soon as we find it, of course."

The door slid close with a soft thud and Mesogog made his way back to the control room, he had not been missed. Taking a glance at the navigational charts, he realized that they had already left the atmosphere and were already making their way into open space.

"Our course," he asked.

"Second star on the right and straight on till morning," the still glowing Pink Ranger replied with a laugh.

Mesogog checked the charts again, "The second star on the right is a white dwarf. Are you saying that we have to fly into that?"

Kimberly started, "What….? No, I was just…it was a quote from a children's book."

Mesogog blinked and repeated his question in a slightly slower tone, "Our course?"

Kimberly frowned, "I don't know how to explain where it is, I just know which direction to go. So," she pointed vaguely to their right, "that way."

Ransik rolled his eyes but obediently turned the ship, using Kimberly's hand like the point of a compass.

"Don't worry guys," Kimberly whispered, "I'm coming."

* * *

_I'm coming._

Green Tommy's eyes flicked open. He had been curled in a ball in the shadowy corner of his high school, hiding from the abominations of his former friends and teammates that tormented him. He heard the loud steps and growls of his on of his greatest fears stomp past the room. He pushed back against the wall, deeper into the shadows.

_I'm coming. _

That voice, he knew that voice. That was Kimberly's voice, not the Kimberly that sneered and laughed at him in this nightmare, but the real Kimberly. The Kimberly that held his hand in the warmth of a summer sun. The Kimberly that laughed at his stupid jokes and encouraged him when he felt worthless.

That Kimberly was coming and he had allowed his fears free reign for long enough. He stood from his hiding place, fists clenched and mouth set into a grim line. As he took a step away from letting his fears have control, the world darkened. The dim light that illuminated the room abruptly went out. He heard a laugh that chilled him to the very bone.

Two bright red eyes opened in the darkness and he heard that laugh again. The eyes rose from the floor until the vague outline of a figure straightened, far, far above his head.

His greatest fear.

Himself.

The Evil Green Ranger laughed one final time, his bright red eyes glowing through his mask.

Tommy set his stance, "Get out of my way, please."

His evil counterpart snorted, "You can't escape me Tommy, I _am_ you."

"Get out of my way," Tommy repeated.

"You will never be one of the good guys, never. You wanted to be evil, you enjoyed it."

"I said, _MOVE_!" Tommy leapt into the air, his leg spinning with the deadly force of a determined Power Ranger behind it.

The gigantic figure was knocked back so far that he simply fell out of sight.

Tommy landed and rolled his shoulders, "I said please."

* * *

_I'm coming._

Trini's eyes narrowed and the string of impossible equations that had been surrounding her vanished. She slowly pulled the dunce cap off her head and tossed it to the side. She stood from the three legged stool and passed by the rows of children's desks. She opened the door to the room, the letters spelling 'Kindergarten' flashing in the dim lights. Her steps echoed down the empty hallways as she walked into the auditorium. Thousands of faces stared at her as she walked between them. The world's most intelligent people assembled to judge her worth. She walked to the podium on the stage, the microphone squawked.

The geniuses waited.

She leaned forward, "I'm leaving." Then she simply walked behind the curtain and did as she had said.

* * *

_I'm coming._

Zack remembered having friends. He remembered laughing and hanging out. He loved making them laugh, he loved grooving and dancing with them. He loved that feeling of friendship whenever they pulled together and struck down a giant monster.

But all his friends had moved on, leaving him behind.

Trini and Billy were out there inventing impossible things. Tommy and Kimberly were running their own companies. Jason was super-heroing with the latest generation of Power Rangers. Everyone else had moved on, leaving him behind.

He had tried starting a dance studio after high school. It had failed. He had tried to go to college but he had failed. Failure seemed to be all he was good at while his friends were nothing but successful. He sat in his rat-hole of an apartment and stared at the wall.

The only thing he was good at was being good at nothing.

He hadn't even been that good of a Power Ranger.

_I'm coming. _

Zack frowned. Kimberly, Jason, Tommy, Trini, even hard to understand Billy. His friends. He felt a heavy weight lift.

He stood from his ratty chair.

His friends didn't leave him behind, he just stalled. It didn't matter if they were more successful, his life was still his own responsibility.

_I'm coming!_

No, he thought, there's something more. Something he was missing. He reached out and touched the wall in front of him, his hand went right through it.

He laughed, something that he hadn't done in far too long.

* * *

_I'm coming._

Jason flinched at the words coming from nowhere. It was the first time he had heard words in…a very long time. He kicked a burned can just to hear the sound of it clanking down the street. Something large crashed down behind him but he didn't even seem to notice it. It happened all the time now. In this, the ruins of Earth.

_I'm coming. _

He flinched again but didn't respond to the words or the voice.

Oversized monsters flew overhead and something exploded in front of him. There were no screams of terror or pain, just a vague whistle as a gust of wind blew by him. Jason didn't even look up. It happened all the time now. In this, mankind's grave.

_I'm coming._

This time he seemed to recognize something in the words, something familiar. He looked around him at the burned out buildings and the dull, brown sky. He glanced at the tattered remains of his Ranger suit and the broken pieces of his morpher. All useless now but then they had been useless even when they had been working. Useless, just like he was.

Despite his best efforts, everything was gone. Everyone was gone. Everyone but him. He didn't know what curse forced him to continue on, to walk through the ruins of the very people he had let down. But he did from sunrise to sunset until he dropped from exhaustion when the sun went down.

_We're coming!_

Jason's feet slid to a stop and he looked up. Four figures were framed in a bright doorway of light.

His spirits lifting and his face breaking into a forgotten smile, he ran towards his friends, throwing himself into their arms.

And found himself standing on a wide open plane, a being of pure darkness floating in front of him.

"Red Ranger," the being said in a voice so vile and wrong that it made Jason want to take a shower.

"Who are you," Jason asked, although he was sure he already knew the answer.

The darkness laughed, "I am Midnight, welcome to the end of your world."

* * *

"Is it working," Billy asked, while gasping for breath. He didn't know how much longer he could hold the portal in its position.

The Morphing Grid, Maggie as she liked to be called, grunted in response. She pulled her hand out of the portal and Billy stepped away from the portal. It spun back into its default position.

"Well," Vida asked impatiently, "what's going on?"

Maggie shrugged, "I was able to weaken Father's hold on the Mighty Morphin Rangers through Billy but…it was strange. Most of them had already been contacted."

Alex sprang onto the platform, glaring at Maggie, "Contacted by who?"

Maggie glared back at him, "I was able to temporarily connect to Kimberly, it must have been her!"

Alex leaned closer, "Are you _sure_?"

Maggie reached down and picked Alex up by his feet, dangling him upside down, "I may have been sick for a while but I know my Power Rangers. It was Kimberly and somehow she was able to reach her friends even in Midnight's realm." She smiled widely, "You guys are as impressive as I had imagined."

"But do you think they'll be able to escape," Mack asked.

Maggie frowned, "Now that I don't know. I gave them a push but they'll have to find a way out on their own. We can enter Midnight's realm without his permission but I can influence it." Maggie rolled her shoulders and smiled at Summer, "You ready to get ahold of your friends?"

Summer sprinted forward and started twisting the portal device that had once connected this world to the Mish-Mash world in the opposite direction until a faint light radiated from it. "Ready."

Maggie gently put her palm on the slight shimmering screen and pushed, "Hear me."

* * *

*AN*

Tommy = regret

Trini = not being smart enough to be worthy

Zack = being left behind

Jason = failure


	46. Chapter 46:No Other Way

Chapter 46 – No Other Way

Summer took her hands off of the portal, looking at Maggie in confusion, "It didn't work. Why didn't it work?"

Maggie seemed just as confused, "I don't understand. It worked with Billy."

Billy defensively put his hands up as everyone turned to look at him, "Hey, I don't always have an answer. While I have encountered some outlandish things over the past few years, trans-dimensional non-corporeal communication is a little out of my expertise."

Vida glanced at Alex who briefly translated, a bored and annoyed look battling for dominance on his face.

Vida raised her hand, which allowed the annoyed look on Alex's face to win out. "Can we use magic? I can still do the basics."

Maggie shook her head, "I'm the Morphing Grid not the Magic Trellis and while my powers can work in concert with what passes for Magic in your dimension, they aren't really all that compatible."

Vida shrugged, "Well, that's all I've got." She elbowed Alex, "You got any suggestions, Future-boy?"

Alex ran his eyes over the portal device and the lack of any kind of technology whatsoever. "No."

Vida rolled her eyes, "Always so laconic. So how are we going to get them out of there?"

"If the people who were trapped in the Midnight Singularity were going through nightmares, does that mean the people in the Daylight Singularity are going through dreams," Mack asked to fill the depressed silence that followed Vida's question.

Maggie shrugged, "I guess. Mother always did have a kind of scary obsession with making everyone happy even if they didn't want to be."

Mack smirked, "So what we need is someone who's good at ruining people's dreams? Say, someone who constantly summons monsters to destroy defenseless towns?"

Tommy laughed, "Or, say, a spaceship that happens to be carrying four of these someone's who also have one of us on board to keep them in line?"

Chad laughed too, "Oh, that is just wrong! Actually _letting_ those guys destroy our friend's dreams? On purpose?"

"It's for their own good," Billy said although he was not smiling. "But it does feel wrong, like we're encouraging their evil behavior."

Mack and Tommy's smiles vanished. Tommy rubbed the back of his head, "You're right, it's weird."

"It's our only option," Chad insisted. "Maggie can get ahold of Kimberly and she can guide the villains to the Daylight Singularity. Then the villains go wild."

"But will it hurt anyone," Vida asked. "They aren't going anywhere near my team if it'll hurt them."

They group looked to Maggie, who smiled, "No, it won't hurt them physically. Mentally, however, I can't even pretend to guess."

The Rangers grimaced, each one going through some of their past crushed dreams that they still hadn't gotten over.

Alex - who's crushed dream included a certain girl choosing a certain identical ancestor over him – nodded, "They're tough and it would be more dangerous for them to stay there. We need to break them out of their golden cage."

Sobered by the thought, the Rangers again turned to Maggie. Maggie leaned down and picked Billy up, setting him down next to the portal machine. "I'm not sure how I got in contact with Kimberly last time but if we go through the same procedure, we should be able to figure it out."

Billy nodded and began to push the portal, "That sounds right to me."

Maggie again put her hand into the portal and closed her eyes, "Kimberly."

* * *

_Kimberly._

Kimberly's eyes opened and her arm dropped to her side. "Did you hear that," she asked turning to the other creatures in the room.

Rita cackled, "Hearing things now? I always knew you Rangers were a special kind of crazy."

Kimberly glared at her but repeated her question.

"We heard nothing," Lord Zedd said, rolling his eyes. The Pink Ranger had that look in her eyes. He reached over and made sure his staff was sitting securely against the wall, something was about to happen and he didn't want to go losing his only weapon able fight off Rita when she started getting whack happy.

Kimberly's eyes unfocused and the villains all began to prepare. They all knew the signs of impending Ranger-ing. It was a split second of calm in an otherwise chaotic battle, or that sudden shift in their eyes. After that moment, things _changed_, they went from losing, from defied all odds and found impossible ways to defeat their diabolical plans.

Mesogog checked the ships status and prepared to suddenly change course if the next few moments called for it. Ransik primed the ships weapons, including a few special modifications he had installed. Rita started poking her dull gold gem, muttering under her breath.

"That way."

Mesogog glanced up to see that the Pink Ranger's arm was no pointing in a new direction. He obligingly turned the ship, still waiting for the penny to drop.

Then the Pink Ranger's eyes opened and Mesogog swore he could have heard the dull thunk of a penny hitting the deck. One of her eyes was glowing pure white while the other seemed to swallow all light that dared venture near it. She opened her mouth but the voice that spoke from it was not her own. It seemed to transcend sound itself and come from everywhere at once.

"Villains, beings of evil, hear me."

* * *

Alex sighed, "Do you really have to be so dramatic? 'Beings of evil', really?"

Maggie glared at him, "Hey, who's the Morphing Grid, you or me?" Alex scowled but didn't answer and Maggie nodded after a few silent seconds, "That's right. So I'll do this my way and you'll like it." She cleared her throat and continued, "Hear me…"

* * *

"Hear me and listen well," the thing speaking through the Pink Ranger commanded.

"What new terror is this," Ransik whispered to Lord Zedd.

Lord Zedd shrugged, "Probably too much Pink Power or some such Ranger-nonsenses."

"Who are you," Rita demanded. "And how dare you call us beings of evil? I am the Empress of Evil and you shall address me as such!"

Mesogog could have sworn that the strange voice _giggled_ at Rita's outburst but he must have heard wrong because what being of such obvious power would giggle.

The Pink Ranger turned her contrasting eyes towards the posturing 'Empress', Rita glared at her defiantly. "I am the Morphing Grid source of all Power in this Universe. I have need of your assistance."

The room was locked in a stunned silence while the villains took this information in and tried to process it. The Morphing Grid, source of all Power – the capital P was forcefully emphasized- in the Universe.

Mesogog's eyes narrowed, Ransik tightened the set of his shoulders and Lord Zedd clenched his hands into fists. The source of all of the Rangers Power, of all of their grand victories and their own impossible defeats. The thing that turned teenagers with attitude into monster busting superheroes.

And it dared to enter their presence.

Lord Zedd attacked first, his tall staff swinging high then coming down with all his strength behind it.

Kimberly's body sprang to the side, her arm knocking the staff aside. Unfortunately, she leapt right into Mesogog who wrapped his arms around her and held tight. She threw her head back, hitting his long face. He dropped her and clutched at his nose. Kimbely landed next to her post and Ransik, who was still standing behind his station, simply pressed a button. A glowing white shield dropped into place around her. She pounded her fists against it uselessly.

Ransik wiped the dust off his shoulders, "Always have a backup plan. Especially if there are Rangers involved."

"Let me out," the _thing_ in the Pink Rangers body demanded. "Let me out!"

Mesogog hissed, "You fool! Did you not think we would react?"

Lord Zedd hit the shield with his staff, "You are the source of all of our defeats, all of our problems! We would be ruling everything if it weren't for you!"

"And the Rangers themselves," Rita said, nodding at the Pink Ranger –who had always been one of the first to insult her-, "they were trouble even without their powers."

"But no," the thing said, "I need your help!"

"And why should we help you," Lord Zedd asked, his eyes narrowed in raw hatred. "The Pink one there actually had a good point, we help her and we help ourselves. But you…I don't think there is any reason in this entire universe to make me want to help _you_."

"Seconded," Rita said angrily. "Now go away and let us go save Pinkys little friends and regain our true forms. Then we'll go back to fighting you with every ounce of our power!"

"But wait," the voice said desperately, "please! You won't succeed unless you help me first!"

Ransik scoffed, "I doubt that, we were doing perfectly well without you before and we'll do perfectly well now."

Mesosgog took a step forward, he had calmed down now and his twisted brain was plotting. He nodded politely at the possessed Pink Ranger, "One moment, if you please." Then he waved at his companions, "A word, if you would."

Once they were all grouped together on the far side of the room, Rita glared at him, "We're not helping that thing."

Mesogog chuckled, "And yet we were helping a Ranger."

"Different thing," Rita said defensively. "And I didn't want to do that either."

Ignoring his wife's increasingly pointless comments – she was now ranting about one of the many times the Rangers had insulted her- Lord Zedd turned his attention to Mesogog. Even over the relatively short time he had known the creature, he had come to admire the diabolical mind that lay behind the ugly exterior. "What do you have in mind," he asked.

Mesogog told him and Lord Zedd was so surprised that he actually dropped his staff in shock. "You can't be serious."

Mesogog merely smiled a small, smug smile and nodded.

Ransik ran a stunned hand through his hair, "That is truly one of the most…marvelous ideas I've ever heard. Truly twisted. So many of us have tried it in a round about way but this…this will be a true act of genius."

Rita rubbed her hands together in anticipation, "I could get used to the idea."

"Then we are agreed," Mesogog asked.

The three other villains nodded enthusiastically and broke apart.

Mesogog approached the trapped Pink Ranger, who was eyeing him warily. "Now, miss…"

The duel colored eyes narrowed, "Call me Maggie."

Rita cackled at the name but Mesogog maintained his composure, "Miss Maggie, we will alter our course and assist you, of course. But we will require some…payment for such an out of character good deed."

"What do you mean," Maggie asked, her disconcerting eyes looking slightly apprehensive.

"Give us access to your Power," Rita blurted out. "Make us," she twisted her mouth in distaste but her unfulfilled desire for power outweighed her hatred of the word, "Power Rangers!"

The Pink Rangers mouth dropped open, "Um. Just a second." The black and white eyes vanished, replaced by Kimberlys normal brown ones.

Kimberly blinked in confusion then her eyes focused on the villains and she glared at them, "You can't be serious."

* * *

"They can't be serious." Tommy pressed his hands against his face, "They cannot be serious. It's a joke, some stupid prank that only makes sense to evil, damaged minds."

Maggie shrugged, "They seemed pretty serious to me."

"It doesn't matter if they're serious or not because either way, it's never going to happen," Alex insisted. "Never."

"I donno," Mack said, "You have to admit, it is in character for them. Right now, they are powerless but with Maggie's help, they would once again have access to some sort of Power. Not only that but it's our Power so it would give them access to all the same abilities and strengths that we have."

Vida rapped her knuckles on Macks head, "Did being turned into a toy damage your thick, robot head? You can't be seriously thinking about supporting this madness?"

Mack shrugged, "I'm just saying, it makes sense."

Vida eyed him, "Did you turn evil when I wasn't looking or something?"

"But what other choice do we have," Summer asked. "Unless some brainiac can think of another way to save my friends?"

Billy frowned at being called a brainiac but answered honestly, "I cannot." He turned to his companions, "Even if Maggie grants them access to her powers, they will never unlock the true abilities of our powers. How many times have we discovered another layer to our abilities just when we needed it most to rescue our friends or save people we cared about. They do not have these feelings and so they will never access them. We will still be more powerful, more skilled. I do not think we have anything to worry about."

"That is true," Vida admitted, thinking of all the times her desperate need to dig deeper to save someone had given her just what she needed to do it.

Tommy, slightly impressed that quite, studious Billy had said something so meaningful about caring and friendship, nodded, "You're right, Billy. Our friendship and bonds are things that they don't have and we are stronger for it."

Alex looked around and saw their faces slowly tightening in acceptance. He blanched, "Do you hear yourself Tommy? _Friendship_? You're saying that friendship is going to save us when villains equipped with our own powers come after us? You cannot be serious!" He held out his hands in a kind of placating gesture and spoke slowly as if to children, "Listen, please just listen. These guys, these villains, are evil. Evil with a capitol E. We can not, I repeat can not, give them more power. Ever. Especially not her power." He pointed at Maggie. "This would be a Bad Thing."

Every one turned to look at Summer, who was the last one to weigh in. She considered her words carefully. "I think…" She bit her lip then continued, "Where I come from, our enemies were built. We, as humanity, literally made them and they turned on us. These villains are creatures, living, breathing, they have a mind of their own. And I think that if we never let them be anything other than our enemies, they never will be."

"That doesn't make any sense," Alex protested. "They're villains. This isn't about letting them choose, they've already chosen! This is about us enabling them by giving them _more_ power."

"I'm just saying, maybe we need to give them the chance to be heroes, to be Power Rangers, instead of villains!"

Alex gaped, "That's just _stupid_! They've had that chance, they've had it a million times." He turned to Maggie, desperate for some sanity. "Please tell me you're not listening to this?"

Maggie grinned down at him, "Oh, it's hardly relevant. I gave them the power right after Billy admitted that there was no other way."

Alex's mouth dropped even further, "You…you already did it? Without waiting on our input?"

Maggie frowned, "I'm the Morphing Grid, I have always decided who I gave Power to, who I thought was worthy, who I thought needed it, or just people I thought deserved. I just liked watching your discussion, though, it was funny."

Alex's eyes flashed, "And you gave it to the villains? To evil beings who will only use it to hurt people? How are they worthy, how did they deserve it?"

Maggie's eyes flared as brightly as Alex's and she reached down, picking him up and holding him tightly in her fist, "I am not a creature of Light, little thing, I am a child of battle, a being born of the struggle between Light and Dark. I favor the light out of my desire to see the universe become a better place but don't you dare confuse that with goodness. The villains condition to become Power Rangers was the only thing that would convince them to save your friends so I gave it to them. It is my choice and I will deal with any consequences that come from it." She pulled him closer, so that he could have reached out and touched her nose, "But remember, little thing, _I_ am the Morphing Grid and you are just an action figure." She grinned wolfishly, her eyes sparkling, "But, admittedly, I couldn't let them have my Power without having a little fun with it too."

* * *

*AN*

Hehe, I do so love giving characters something to fight about. Boy, oh boy, is next update gonna be fun:)!

Also, it's April Fools day! Go out and prank someone! Nicely, of course, none of that mean stuff.

*CL*

If you've gotten this far in and still don't know who anyone is…you're kind of weird.


	47. Chapter 47: Broken Dreams

Chapter 47 – Broken Dreams

Kimberly leaned her head against the shield as the message came through the strange link she shared with the Morphing Grid. The Morphing Grid was going to do it, she –and how strange was it that it was a she - was going to give the villains Power.

She opened her eyes even though she didn't really want to see what came next.

First, Rita's dark gold gem began to glow, just like hers had. Then it broke free of whatever kept it glued to the console and broke apart, bursting into a cloud of golden sparkles. These fell over Rita. At first nothing happened, there was a slight cool breeze, and then she ruptured, a line of light from head to toe.

Next Lord Zedd's deep red gem glowed. It rocketed free of its podium and shattered into a shower of blood red drops. The drops dripped one by one onto Zedd until he was completely covered in the droplets. A line appeared on the right arm, it raced across his chest to his left arm.

Mesogog's creepy gloomy gem glowed. It didn't try to break free of its podium, it simply turned into slim and oozed free. The slimy fluid pooled at his feet then slowly crawled upwards until it covered him from head to toe. A line appeared on his head and it spiraled down to his toes.

Ransik's chrome colored stone glowed. It melted the part of the podium touching it and slammed itself into Ransik's chest. Metal plates covered his body, materializing outward from the gem. A line appeared on his head and it zigzagged down to his toes.

The lines flared, bright enough that Kimberly was temporarily blinded. But when she was able to see again, Kimberly just started laughing.

Rita, self-proclaimed Empress of Evil, wore a flowing suit of dark brown, with a long, thick skirt. Dull gold, wavy lines raced up her arms and legs with golden sunbursts filling in the curves. Over her heart was a large gold crescent moon. But it was her head gear that caused Kimberly to once again mock Rita. Her normal horned headdress was gone, replaced with a pair of golden Mickey Mouse ears. Or Minnie Mouse ears, since there was still a checkered red and white bow between them.

Lord Zedd, self-proclaimed Emperor of Evil, had a deep red suit, very close to his normal outfit. Dark silver exes crossed his chest with similar exes on his knees and elbows while each of the four corners of the exes were filled in with a bright silver spirals. Over his heart is a large, bright silver Z. He was sporting the companion hat to his wife's but his was more than twice as large and he didn't look quite so menacing with an oversized Mickey Mouse hat on his head and oversized white gloves on his hands.

Mesogog, an ancient prehistoric evil, did not have a suit. Instead his was covered in overlapping bone white scales with an eerie helmet covering his face that was shaped like a dinosaurs open mouth with jagged black teeth framed his face. His hands and feet were covered in gloves and boots that were elongated into the razor sharp bones of a raptors claw. Over his heart was the black footprint of a dinosaur. And he was covered in bright green polka dots. His intimidating suit didn't look anything like threatening when it had bright green polka dots randomly spotting it.

Mechanical-man Ranksik changed the least of the four. Instead of an threatening suit full of cyber wizardry, he wore a simple bicycle helmet on his head and the large shoulder pads of a hockey player. Over his heart was a yellow frowny face. He looked at his companions then back at his own new uniform and mentally declared war on that uppity Morphing Grid.

Before they had time to talk or - Ransik's case- mope, they arrived at the Daylight Singularity.

* * *

Villains always lose. It was almost a universal law.

If you were evil, planned on conquering some unsuspecting planet or bring back some ancient monster, you would lose. Some force of good would step forward to stop you.

You would balk at first but as their impossible victories began piling up, you would start to wonder if those old rumors were true. If those tales whispered in fear in dark basements were right. That evil would never triumph over good. Never. That it was your fate to someday fall to some scrawny farmer from a backwater planet who was unexpectedly connected to some ancient power. A chill would form on the bottom of your spin as you came oh so close to believing it. But you would brush it off, like everyone else did, when you stepped back outside beneath the pale yellow light of the sun. As you gazed up at the wonders you had come to covet, you would think, 'No, I am different. I deserve this. I will win.'

Those tales would come back to you when it was your time, when those vile teenagers who always seemed to get in your way broke through your defenses and stared defiantly at you. The tales would pick at you during your fight, gaining more strength the more your power waned. And when that final blow was struck, when you were cast into some dark pit for eternity, you would curse the heroes and their light, the inherent goodness in them that had malevolently and maliciously despised all logic and laws to bring you down.

Villains would always lose, they knew this deep down in a dark corner that they refused to acknowledge. It kept them awake at night, dogged their spare moments and made their lives nothing more than an effort to prove that nagging itch wrong.

So when the villains were called by one of the Powers to save the heroes and in doing so literally destroy the dreams of those who enforced their supposed fate, there was some very obvious glee.

* * *

Ronny really hadn't wanted all that much from life. Sure, saving people was awesome and being a Power Ranger was all kinds of cool but when it came down to her demands out of life, her list was rather short.

1: Become the best racecar driver ever

2: Become the best Power Ranger ever

3: Save the world

But she had never imagined in her wildest dreams that she could do all three at once.

Engines revved.

The crowd roared.

The countdown clicked down another second.

Ronny glanced over at her competition, five of the most dangerous villains in Power Rangers history. Each in a vehicle that defied logic and wearing an appropriate drivers suit, Rita, Lord Zedd, Mesosgog, Ransik and Miratrix all glared back at her.

Another second went by and Ronny turned her attention back to the course. Built and feared by evil, Ronny alone had had the racecar skills necessary to defeat this monstrosity of this track. The other Rangers looked on from the stands, cheering her with all of their Power.

The countdown reached two.

Then one.

The flag dropped -almost in slow motion - and Ronny slammed her foot down on the pedal, her focus narrowing to the snake of asphalt in front of her. Her car leapt forward, its modified engine roaring in challenge.

And the other cars whizzed past, moving so quickly that they were mere blurs, lapping her once then twice then a third time before she even got to the first corner. The race was won before Ronny had completed even one lap. She stared at her dashboard in shock while four of the villains climbed out of their cars and started catcalling the other Rangers.

She had lost in a humiliating fashion.

She had failed in front of all of her friends.

Her dreams were over.

The world around her began to crack as Rita turned and smirked, "You're welcome, puny Ranger."

* * *

The dream worlds began to break under the villains assault. They showed no mercy and no caring for the worldlets occupants, using all of their devious tricks to force the dreams to shatter. The more worldlets that were popped, the easier the later ones were destroyed. Eventually, the villains didn't have to do anything at all. It was like a domino effect as if the still ensnared Rangers began to realize that their worlds were not real and actively fought against their golden cages.

Not that this stopped the villains from invading the Rangers dreams anyways and helping the process in any terrifying way they could.

* * *

It wasn't easy to destroy a Ranger's dream. It took skill and a desire to see someone broken. Luckily, the villains had both.

Magic and science worked in harmony. Creatures from beyond the mystic veil lived and worked alongside ordinary humans without any strife.

Chip passed a goblin helping a child walk a dog. The goblin kept trying to use the leash to trip passerbys, which made the little boy giggle.

Above them, a pair of gigantic dragons flew past, their shadows startling everyone below. But when the people stopped to look up, smiles broke over their faces. Chip's smile widened.

He didn't go unnoticed by the people once they got their fill of the dragons.

"Chip!"

"It's Chip!"

"The great Chip!"

People and creatures rushed over to him, eyes glowing in admiration. Some shook his hands furiously, others tried to gather him up in a troll hug. He took it all in stride, he was, after all a superhero.

His shining yellow armor glinted in the afternoon sun. He had taken his heroic helmet off earlier and was holding it in one hand. It was almost jostled loose when a particularly enthusiastic man who almost broke his arm shaking it.

"Calm down," Chip said with a laugh although he was enjoying the attention. "Even us superheroes can get hurt." Then Chip saw whose hand he had been shaking and he choked. "You!"

Superman stood directly in front of him, his bright blue eyes sparkling in amusement. A red cape billowed out from behind him, blowing majestically in the wind. "Hello."

Chip's hand dropped to his side and his sun-yellow helmet clattered to the ground, "It's you!"

Superman smiled widely, his perfect teeth flashing, "So they keep saying." He stepped to Chip's side, putting his arm around his shoulders, "But I was thinking, would you happen to know any superheroes around here who might like to help me take down an evil villain who is at this moment threatening Metropolis?"

Chip about fainted in glee, his chest swelled with pride, "Yeah, I do!"

Superman grinned, "Perfect." He looked around, "Now, where is he?"

Chip blinked in confusion, "Huh?"

Superman clapped Chip's back, "The hero, where is he? Or she?"

Chip, still not really understanding, spoke up, "It's me, Superman! I'm a hero!"

Superman looked down at him, his eyes still amused, "Oh, come on. It can't be you." He jostled him, "I know you think yourself a superhero and all but do you really think you've really got what it takes?"

Felling hurt, Chip spluttered, "But I am a superhero!" He pushed himself away from Superman and gestured at his costume, "Look!"

Superman's amusement faded, now looking at Chip sadly. He lowered his voice, "You really should stop deluding yourself. You are no hero."

The people nearby who had been congradulating him only minutes earlier now looked at Chip in derision.

"He thinks he's a hero."

"How could he think that _he's_ good enough to be a hero?"

"He's just a kid in a suit."

But Chip wasn't ready to give up just yet. He glared at Superman, "I am too a hero! I'm a Power Ranger!" He called forth his Power, preparing himself for the rush of energy. Nothing happened.

Superman and the crowd laughed cruelly.

His dream crushed, Chip's opulent costume began to fall apart and cracks began to show up in the world around him.

He fell to the ground in defeat as Superman's hand reached down, now a sharp metal claw. The hand poked him lightly on the top of his head, "Tag."

* * *

As the last of the dream bubbles burst, an increadably bright Light flared and Mesogog, Ransik, Rita and Lord Zed looked around in confusion. They were in an impossibly large room filled with white light. Mesogog glanced at Ransik, who shrugged.

"Welcome, Emperor and Empress, ancient one and machine man."

Mesogog realized that they were not alone; a small ball of light was pulsating softly not far away. So this was the Daylight Singularity. He was expecting someone more…majestic, he supposed. But that was no reason to be rude. "Thank you. May I enquire as to why we are here?"

The light glowed brighter, "You are here because you invaded my sanctuary. Each of you were found to have the heart most in line with what my husband believes. You are all evil."

Mesogog nodded, Rita cackled, Lord Zedd crossed his arms, Ransik scratched his nose.

"My husband and I have decided that this battle between us has gone on for far too long. We have allowed pride and hubris to cloud our judgments. Our daughter suffers because of our feud. So we have decided to end this. At this time, my husband is also conferring with one who closely embodies my ideals, one of the first of my daughters heroes. If either of you can convince one of us that we are wrong, then we will end this war in favor of that ideal." The light floated closer, "Speak."

* * *

*AN*

Yes, this is a relatively short chapter but I'll more than make up for it in the coming final chapters.

Power Rangers Power Racing – It's kind of like Mario Kart but with more giant robots.

Is there a good Justice League/Power Rangers crossover out there? That's something I would _love_ to read.

We've got about four or five chapters left guys(whoo!) and I plan on churning them out as quickly as I think they're ready so it might not always be on a Sunday. Keep checking back:)!


	48. Chapter 48: Choices part 1

Not Just Action Figures – Chapter 48: Choices part 1

* * *

Jason Scott, a great hero, stood before the Midnight Singularity to fight for the future of the universes.

Four evil villains stood before the Daylight Singularity to fight for the futures of the universes.

But this fight would be unlike their previous battles because instead of Powers and monsters this one would be fought with words.

* * *

"Why should I allow the worlds to sink into an abyss of light," Midnight asked, his voice dripping with disdain.

Jason didn't even have to think about his answer, it came as easily as breathing, "Because the world would be a better place."

Midnight was silent for a second, "Says who?"

Jason blinked, "What?"

"Who says that the world would be a better place?" The darkness moved towards him, "You, my fine boy, have had a sheltered life."

Jason blanched, "A sheltered life?! I have been fighting giant monsters for the past two years! Putting my life on the line time after time! How is that sheltered?"

The darkness swirled, a small portal appearing in the shadows. Through it, Jason saw people screaming. He watched as explosions ripped families apart, as countries went to devastating battle, as buildings fell. He stood in desperate shock as he watched a world slowly fall apart. Children cried in hunger, adults cried in despair and there were no heroes, no one person stepped forward to single handedly force the horrors away.

"This world is one of my favorites," Midnight said as the portal closed on a scene of terrifying violence. "It once had so much hope and joy in it but the humans wisely threw it away for chaos. You see, this is what most worlds are like. Their monsters cannot be defeated by heroes in spandex, their monsters are not obvious and sometimes their monsters do not even know they are monsters. You say that a world without chaos and darkness would be a better world? Well I tell you right now that if your two worlds went to war, that world would win. Without really trying. Because chaos makes people strong, it forces them to become more than they ever dreamed they could be. Darkness makes people smart, it forces them to see beyond what is right in front of them and onto what there might be. Do you want a world where everyone is weak and worthless? Without my darkness, without your years of struggles and battles, who would you be?" Midnight's voice turned cruel, "Would you still be a hero?"

* * *

"Why should I allow the worlds to be stained by darkness," Daylight asked, her voice scornful.

Ransik spoke up, his mind running through all the times he had been mocked or hurt, "Because it is humanities true nature. Because when it comes down to it, darkness it what people really want."

Daylight was silent for a second then asked, "Says who?"

Ransik blinked with one eye, his red eye dimmed, in confusion, "What?"

"Who says that darkness is what people really want? You?"

Ransik bristled, "Yes, me. I think that I have had experience seeing the darkness in humanity."

Mesogog stepped forward, "I too know something of humanity's nature. I have seen them wreck worlds, destroy any stands between them and their selfish desires. It is disgusting."

"Ah," Daylight said as her light moved towards them, "but you four, my fine friends, have only been shown a part of the story."

"A part of the story," Rita ranted. "I have been alive for thousands of years!"

In answer, some of the ambient light swirled to form a small gateway. Through it the four villains watched as people cried. They watched families were torn apart, as hurt and pain devoured nations. Then came the part of the story they normally didn't see. They watched as people worked together to rebuild, as they looked past nationality, past creed, past religion. They watched as a world came together in harmony and accomplished things that they could not have done alone. But there were no obvious heroes; instead groups of single people stepped forward to offer their time and lives to others.

"This is what happens after one of your attacks, after you have wreaked destruction and devastation, been defeated and gone on your way. This world is one of my favorites," Daylight said as the portal closed. "It has seen so much suffering and pain and even though all of the humans have not embraced the light, some few have taken it upon themselves to help others. And a few is all it really takes in the beginning. Your monsters were defeated by those few in your world and although they do not wear spandex or pilot giant machines, the humans of that world are no less heroes. Because love gives people tremendous strength, it forces them to become more than they are. The search for joy and happiness forces people to look past what is on the surface and see what is really important. Do you truly want a world where all beings have lost their true power? Without my light, without your misguided search for what makes you happy, what would you have left to live for?"

* * *

Jason thought for a while before answering. Midnights words stung with their truth. He had to admit that his battles had made him stronger both physically and personally. He had a confidence that he had not had before becoming a Power Ranger, a pride in his ability to protect others. He scanned through his memories of the last few years, of all of the times he had conquered evil and pushed himself to become more than he had been. If none of that had ever happened, would he be who he was today? He wasn't sure that he would be.

Being a Power Ranger was a part of who he was. He was deeply disturbed by the idea that it might be a large part of who he was, large enough that he would be drastically different if it were gone.

Midnight watched Jason stumble with glee. These mortals, he scoffed, so easily manipulated.

* * *

Rita fingered the edges of her dress, uncomfortable with the deep silence around her. These fools were thinking about it! She scowled and glanced at Zeddy, seeing that his head was bowed in thought. She wacked the back of his knee with her staff, making him stumble. "Don't listen to her," she ranted, "She's speaking goody-two-shoes nonsense!"

Lord Zedd looked at her gravely, his shoulders slumping. He would never admit it but Daylight's words were deeply concerning. He had never considered why he did what he did, he had simply done it. Conquering worlds did not take much thought, you simply sent your armies down there and ruthlessly crushed any resistance. He had never questioned why, though. Looking at Rita Repulsa, a woman who infuriated him, who angered him and who filled him with a sickeningly sweet emotion that he refused to name, for the first time, he asked why.

What was he really looking for in his conquest of the stars? Power? He had that already. Fame? He was the Emperor of Evil, he needed no more notoriety. Was it truly happiness he was looking for? Was all of his posturing and fighting just a cover for his desperate search for purpose?

Daylight watched Lord Zedd stumble with delight. These mortals, she thought admiringly, are so wonderfully manipulated.

Daylight reached out through the singularity plane to her husband. "Well, Midnight, are you ready to surrender?"

Midnight snorted, "Not on your life, sweetie."

* * *

"Where did the ship come from," Alex asked in surprise.

Where their friends had vanished, a toy-sized ship had now appeared. Toy sized to Maggie but normal sized for the still small Power Rangers.

"Isn't that the Space Rangers ship," Vida asked, walking towards it.

"Do you think we can use it," Chad excitedly asked. "Think of how much easier it would be to fight these things if we had a working spaceship!"

Tommy glanced at Maggie, who was sitting on the floor with her eyes closed. Her lips moved soundlessly like she was talking to someone who wasn't there. It wouldn't surprise him very much if she was. He nodded, "Come on, let's see if we can get it working."

* * *

Jason finally came to a conclusion and shook off his slowly worsening train of thought. He looked up at Midnight and shored up his self-confidence. He raised his chin, "Whether or not I would be considered a hero is not the point. Being a Power Ranger has given me the ability to do more for others than I ever thought possible. It has allowed me to use my skills and ability to fight off the monsters that want to destroy everything I hold dear. And as much as I think I've come to rely on being a Power Ranger to define me, there is more to me than just the Red Ranger. I will always stand up for other people."

Midnight sighed dramatically, "You are missing the point, Jason. I am not questioning your past ability to fight for what you believe in. I am asking whether or not you would want to live in a world where that is not possible. You see, my dear wife does not like choice. If you were to allow her to force the worlds into her 'light', it would be a world without pain sure but also without any kind of free will. At all. She would basically turn every single universe into her personal doll house. You would almost instantly lose awareness and feeling. You would still die, of course, but whatever poor semblance of life you had would be completely pointless." The point of darkness floated closer to Jason. "Completely Pointless. Could you live with that," the darkness whispered, "would you even be _alive_?"

* * *

Rita spoke up, her voice shrill, "How dare you! Assume that we, who have conquered worlds and built some of the most powerful empires, who have assembled some of the most terrifying councils of evil known to the universe, have no connections to others." She knocked Lord Zedd's head with her staff, "

Daylight sighed sadly, "You are all missing the point. I am not questioning your strength or abilities. In fact I am very proud of you all for your empires and councils. I am asking if you want to live in a world where there those things are not possible. You see, my dear husband does not like attachments. If you were to allow him to cover the worlds in 'darkness', it would be a world without connections. Each man or woman or pulsing ball of light for themselves. No love, no friendship, no affection." She paused, "No hate, no fear, no ranks, no titles, no _power_. No friends, no family, no cities or towns. In a world where you don't care anything about the person sitting next to you, what's to stop you from stealing from them, hurting them or killing them? Every universe would be one where lives are held by the momentary whims of billions of others. And as much as I know you boast of your ability to not be attached to others, does this include everyone _everyone_." The point of light floated closer to the group of villains. "Are you truly willing to give up those things? Could you live with that," the light whispered, "Would you even _care_?"

* * *

Maggie desperately fought to enter singularity plane where her parents were but it was harder for her being of both the Dark Singularity and Light Singularity. There was no Gray Singularity and she had to carefully balance both of her sides, being too Dark in the Light, and visa-versa, would destroy her.

But her parents were actively keeping her out. They were determined to decide her fate, and by extension the universes', without her input. She scowled, remembering what she had been like under her father's influence. She would not let this happen. She opened her eyes and saw the small little figures she had stolen from their universe heading towards a ship that had appeared out of nowhere. The Power Rangers. A group of mere teenagers given powers they couldn't possibly be ready for. For whatever the reason, in her dark-induced madness, out of all the universes where there were heroes and villains and battles in giant robots, she had kidnapped _them_. She had always had a fondness for them. Maybe it was their strange determination, their seemingly impossible victories or how they always seemed to take their lot in life with dignity and fortitude. Or maybe it was their ever present humor and willingness to laugh in the face of monsters. Or maybe it was that she thought some of them were pretty cute. For whatever reason, her Dark half had pulled them out because for some reason they were a threat to her fathers plans. If only that logic made sense to her now.

Why, she asked herself, why had she picked _them_?

* * *

*A/N*

Soooo….I know it's been awhile. Ok, it's been a long while but a lot's happened in that while. A lot of good things, a lot of new things and a few scary things but I promised that this will not be a dead fic and I am going to see this through! So, if you're reading this, than thank you. Thank you for still reading.


	49. Chapter 49: Graying Pains

Chapter 49 – Graying Pains

Maggie felt her connection to the villains in the Daylight Singularity fading, their temporary connection to the Power flickering under their doubt. They were listening to her mother. She chewed on her lip, worried. Of her parents, her mother was the most convincing. She always spoke softly with only a slightly condescending edge. It was like trying to argue with your ancient, kindly grandmother.

She had never expected her parents to take their argument beyond the family and involve Jason and the villains. On the bright side, maybe it meant that their great fight was nearing its climax. On the less bright side, she didn't like the idea of either of her parents winning. She loved them dearly, but they both had atrocious ideas about how things should be. A free-will less universe of empty smiles or a boundary less universe without love, both were equally horrific.

She reached deep into herself.

In her minds eye, she saw the two opposing sides of her personality and the multicolored barrier that separated them. That was the source of her Power, that barrier. It absorbed the shadowy energies of her Dark Half struggling to submerge her Light Half and soaked up the burning energies of her Light Half trying to incinerate her Dark Half. The barrier and her Light Half had been suppressed by her father and her Dark Half had taken over. Apprehensively, she reached out and tapped her Dark Half. It felt cold and oily. Channeling that energy, she stretched out to her wavering connection to the villains and fed the darkness to them. She hated to give them power but if they submitted to her mother, far worse would happen.

She felt their resolve strengthen and her connection solidify. She sighed in relief but couldn't relax. She still didn't know how she was going to save them for her mother.

* * *

"You don't understand what you're asking me to do," Jason said, through gritted teeth.

Midnight chuckled, "I am asking nothing, mortal. You will decide for me and not my wife because you have no other choice. You will not allow your world to become one with no choice; it is simply not in your nature."

"But people will get hurt if I let you win. A lot of people. People I care about."

Midnight snorted, "People get hurt."

"Not when I'm around!" Jason glared at the ball of darkness, "_No one_ gets hurt on my watch."

Midnight was surprised to see a faint glow begin to pulse from Jason.

"You are asking me to step aside and just _let_ that happen. You want me to let the bullies bully, to let the monsters destroy, to let _wars_ happen. You are asking me to let people **die**."

Midnight was forced backwards as Jason's glow grew stronger. He didn't understand why the mortal was so upset, "People die, you cannot stop everyone from dying, you cannot stop everyone from getting hurt."

"No," Jason said, his eyes blazing. A red light exploded in the shadowy Singularity space, Jason at its epicenter. "But I will stop every one that I can!"

Midnight growled, the room darkening again. "You don't understand, mortal…"

"No, _you_ don't understand," Jason interrupted, gesturing, "I keep the bullies back, I keep the monsters under the bed and I keep the witches on the moon! I don't accept that the world is only black or white, good or evil. I don't accept that at all. I am Jason Scott, Red Power Ranger, and there is nothing that I cannot do!"

* * *

Maggie's eyes flashed open, her mouth dropped. Something had changed. She focused her mind, feeling out to where her parents were barricaded. The Midnight Singularity was…failing! She was even more startled when she recognized the power that was making her father's plane to falter. It was her own power, the Power. She felt a grin flash across her face as she remembered why her dark third had taken the Power Rangers, why out of all the universes they had been the biggest threat.

It wasn't because they were the strongest.

It wasn't because they were the most powerful.

It wasn't because they were the most heroic.

It was because they were teenagers- teenagers with _attitude_. And there is nothing more dynamic, nothing more persistent and nothing more terrifying. They were irrational, self-confident to an absurd degree and had no conception of what was and wasn't possible.

Maggie felt hope bloom in her chest, if Jason could distract her father's attention then she should be able to slip in there and rescue him. She closed her eyes again and concentrated, her entire attention focused on her father's barrier. She tapped into her Light Half to help the barrier fail, she started emitting a soft white light.

Behind her the spaceship exploded in a blaze of sharp yellow light. Five figures moving at speeds too quickly to follow, rushed past the assembled and stunned group of Rangers. The leader in red pulled something metallic out of from behind his back and sprang into the air.

Psycho Red grinned madly, "We got tired of waiting." He landed on her before she could react and the Sword of Light plunged into Maggie's back.

She let out a shriek of pain then her eyes went slack and she slumped over. The light inside her flickered fitfully and then vanished.

Somewhere in the depths of reality, an impossibly bright plane of light let out a scream that echoed throughout the entire fabric of reality. It lasted for a full minute before it abruptly cut off, leaving existence suddenly seeming too silent. And colder.

*A/N*

I know it's short but honestly, I love that cliffhanger. More soon!

It was because they were teenagers- teenagers with _attitude_. And there is nothing more dynamic, nothing more persistent and nothing more terrifying. They are irrational, self-confident to an absurd degree and have no conception of what is and isn't possible.


End file.
